Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Move..., Barbara Ransby
Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Move..., Barbara Ransby
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Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement
A Radical Democratic Vision

Author: Barbara Ransby

Narrator: Lisa Reneé Pitts

Unabridged: 21 hr 21 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 03/30/2021


Synopsis

One 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. She was a national officer and key figure in the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, one of the founders of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and a prime mover in the creation of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. Baker made a place for herself in predominantly male political circles that included W. E. B. Du Bois, Thurgood Marshall, and Martin Luther King Jr., all the while maintaining relationships with a vibrant group of women, students, and activists both black and white.

In this deeply researched biography, Barbara Ransby chronicles Baker's long and rich political career as an organizer, an intellectual, and a teacher. Beyond documenting an extraordinary life, the book paints a vivid picture of the African American fight for justice and its intersections with other progressive struggles worldwide across the twentieth century.

About Barbara Ransby

Barbara Ransby is professor of African American studies and history and director of the Gender and Women's Studies Program at the University of Illinois at Chicago.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sara on September 18, 2007

I loved this book. The writing wasn't my favorite ever - I think the book is geared towards academic use and a lot of points get repeated over and over - but Ella Baker was an amazing woman. Baker's career spanned from the 1930's to the 1970's. I haven't read many books that talk about the older peo......more

Goodreads review by JRT on July 24, 2023

Barbara Ransby’s biography of Ella Jo Baker provides a tremendous account of the life of one of the most prolific and consequential Black political organizers of the 20th Century. As Ransby makes clear, Ms. Baker’s fingerprints are all over the development and evolution of the 20th Century Black Lib......more

Goodreads review by Pascal on February 17, 2013

One of the best histories of an American Civil Rights leader I've read. The importance of Ella Baker to the Civil Rights Movement, compounded with her dedication to a democratic bottom up leadership strategy that empowered the dispossessed to take revolutionary leadership of their liberation is unpa......more

Goodreads review by Catherine on December 31, 2024

This is the best book I read in 2024. I learned about Ella baker in “I’ve got the light of freedom”, but did not fully know her or her story. Barbara Ransby does a beautiful job telling and teaching the story and works about Ella Baker. Ella had a profound impact on American society and her story ma......more

Goodreads review by Derek on February 15, 2024

After reading this book I am convinced that Ella Baker is one of the most exciting feminists of the civil rights era, certainly one of the greatest humans to organize in in Turtle Island(US)!......more