Ella Baker: Godmother of the Civil Rights Movement

Miss Baker worked behind the scenes of SNCC (pronounced “Snick) in the 1950’s but continued through her death at 80 in 1986 to work at the grass-roots level in the fight for civil rights and civil liberties. In those days, all the leaders were men; black women were supposed to wear hats and dresses but stay in the background. Miss Baker spent her time listening to people, absorbing their pain, and modeling action to protest the culture that caused that pain.

Born in 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia, Ella was embedded in the Jim Crow south. Her grandparents, Mitchell and Bet Ross, had been slaves on a plantation in North Carolina. She was raised by strong women who believed in education. Ella graduated valedictorian of her class at Shaw Academy and University in Raleigh, NC.

Ella excelled at speaking in public, even speaking in church at the age of 9. This skill provided much of her impact as an activist through the rest of her life. The following 33- minute video of a speech in 1986 is an audio of her played over still pictures from her life.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9d_RulHh6_g

For a brief introduction, watch this 3:52 minute video of “Ella Baker — #WomenYouShouldKnow.”

Submitted by Teresa Wilmot