Ella Baker Research Paper

Ella Josephine Baker was born December 13, 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). She grew up in North Carolina and developed a passion for social justice after hearing stories from when her grandmother was in slavery (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). Her grandmother often told her stories of slave revolts and how oppressive life was as a slave (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). Baker studied at Shaw University in Raleigh, North Carolina and was elected valedictorian when she graduated in 1927 with a degree in sociology (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). Baker began to cultivate her radical activism by protesting rules and policies of the university that were discriminating (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). She then moved to New York and became an activist in many social justice organizations and worked other jobs to make ends meet (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). In 1930, still early in

She began her work with the NAACP in the 1940s (“Who Was Ella Baker?”, 2015). She traveled all over, but was concentrated primarily in the South where she raised money and recruited members (“Baker, Ella Josephine”, n.d.). She worked as a field secretary and then served as Director of Branches from 1943-1946 (“Baker, Ella Josephine”, n.d.). As Director of Branches she was the highest ranking female in the organization (“Baker, Ella Josephine”, n.d.). Baker was an outspoken, strong woman who believed in organizing locally. She urged the NAACP to focus on grassroots level organizing because she believed efforts grew from the bottom up (“Baker, Ella Josephine”, n.d.). Baker did not support the elitist mentality that the NAACP followed and valued the work of the many (“Baker, Ella Josephine”, n.d.). She believed it was the hard work, dedication and community efforts that provided long lasting effects. Baker departed the NAACP due to those differences (“Baker, Ella Josephine”,