Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic VisionOne of the most important African American leaders of the twentieth century and perhaps the most influential woman in the civil rights movement, Ella Baker (1903-1986) was an activist whose remarkable career spanned fifty years and touched thousands of lives. A gifted grassroots organizer, Baker shunned the spotlight in favor of vital behind-the-scenes work that helped power the Black freedom struggle. Making her way in predominantly male circles while maintaining relationships with a vibrant group of women, students, and activists, Baker was a national officer and key figure in the NAACP, a founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and a prime mover in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In this definitive biography, Barbara Ransby chronicles Baker's long and rich career, revealing her complexity, radical democratic worldview, and enduring influence on group-centered, grassroots activism. Beyond documenting an extraordinary life, Ransby paints a vivid picture of the African American fight for justice and its intersections with other progressive struggles worldwide throughout the twentieth century. |
Contents
| 1 | |
Norfolk Virginia and Littleton North Carolina 19031918 | 13 |
Shaw Academy and Shaw University 19181927 | 46 |
The Making of a Black Radical Activist and Intellectual | 64 |
The NAACP National Office 19401946 | 105 |
Local Politics and Global Ideologies New York City in the 1950s | 148 |
The Politics of Leadership in the Early Civil Rights Movement | 170 |
Section of Photos | 197 |
9 The Empowerment of an Indigenous Southern Black Leadership 19611964 | 273 |
Fighting for Freedom in the Belly of the Beast of Southern Racism | 299 |
11 The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Radical Campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s | 330 |
Ella Bakers Legacy | 357 |
Ella Bakers Organizational Affiliations 19271986 A Partial List | 375 |
Notes | 377 |
| 425 | |
| 451 | |
Shreveport Birmingham and the Southern Conference Education Fund | 209 |
The Birth of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee 19601961 | 239 |
Other editions - View all
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision Barbara Ransby Limited preview - 2003 |
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision Barbara Ransby Limited preview - 2003 |
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision ... Barbara Ransby No preview available - 2012 |
Common terms and phrases
active African American Amzie Moore Anna Ross Anne Braden Atlanta Baker’s view Baptist became Birmingham black community Black Freedom Movement black women Bob Moses campaign challenge church Committee Communist conference cooperative culture democratic economic Ella Baker Ella’s files folder Fred Shuttlesworth Freedom Schools friends gender grassroots Harlem Hayden and Thrasher Ibid intellectual interview by author interview by Hayden interview by Hogan issues Jim Crow King’s later leaders leadership letter Littleton lives meeting ment mfdp militant Mississippi mother NAACP Papers Negro never nonviolence Norfolk North Carolina organization Party Pauli Murray people’s protest race racial racism radical role Ross Baker Roy Wilkins Rustin scef Schuyler sclc Shaw University Shreveport Shuttlesworth sit-in sncc sncc activists sncc’s socialist South southern black staff struggle summer teacher tion voter W. E. B. Du Bois Walter White woman workers yncl York City young