Sociology Essay: Analyzing Ella Baker's Role in Civil Rights Era

This essay provides an overview of Ella Baker, a prominent figure in the Civil Rights Movement, born in 1903. It highlights her early life, influenced by her grandmother's stories, and her education at Shaw University, where she began protesting against unjust regulations. The essay details her involvement with the Young Negroes Cooperative League and her marriage to T.J. Roberts, emphasizing her continued activism and contributions to social work. It underscores her significant roles in influential civil rights groups like NAACP, SNCC, and SCLC. The essay concludes by emphasizing Baker's crucial influence on the Civil Rights Movement and her lifelong dedication to social justice, as well as referencing key sources that support the information presented. The essay answers the question: “What happens when one person makes a choice to stand up against what they know is wrong?” by illustrating Ella Baker’s commitment to challenging the status quo during the Jim Crow era.

Running Head: SOCIOLOGY 0
Africa America History
Ella Baker
(Student Details :)
1/15/2019

Sociology 1
Ella Baker: an Activist
Ella Baker, whose full name was Ella Josephine Baker (herein after referred as Ms.
Baker) was born on 13th December, 1903 in Norfolk, Virginia. Ms. Baker was lived as well as
brought up by her parents and grandmother in the region of North Carolina. Ms. Baker’s
grandmother told her many stories which helped her in becoming who she was in the Civil
Rights movement. Later then, Ella went for her graduation from the Shaw University to be
graduated as class valedictorian. Firstly, Ella’s protective nature for the unfair policies came
into light during her graduation from the Shaw University where she began to protest as well
as speak against unjustified rules and regulations (Scelfo, 2017). In the year 1930, Ella joined
the group ‘Young Negroes Cooperative League’.
Later then, Ella met T.J. Roberts who was also an activist as well as political minded
personality and after got attracted towards his qualities she got married to him in the 1930s
(Crowther, 2014). Even after her marriage she continued her work as an activist and served
for the community’s social works. In this way, she brought a Negroes revolution by raising
political consciousness of the Americans. Moreover, Ms. Baker has contributed a lot by
playing a major role in 20th century’s top most influential Civil Rights groups like NAACP,
SNCC and SCLC (Crowther, 2014). Therefore, without Ella Baker, the effectiveness of Civil
Rights Movement would have been different as she would not have actively participated and
found many of the main Civil Rights and Negros groups. Thus, she was a great influential
social activist who contributed half of her life to the Civil Rights movements.
References
Crowther, L. (2014). Ella Baker: 10 Facts. Retrieved from Legacy.Com:
http://www.legacy.com/news/explore-history/article/ella-baker-10-facts
Scelfo, J. (2017, 01 16). On MLK Day, Honor the Mother of the Civil Rights Movement, Too.
Retrieved from TIME: http://time.com/4633460/mlk-day-ella-baker/