Study Notes on Ella Jo Baker and the Politics of Spokesmanship

Challenging the Politics of Spokesmanship

Introduction to Ella Jo Baker

• Birth and Death: Ella Jo Baker was born in 1903 and died in 1986.
• Focus of Work: Devoted her entire adult life to building organizations that worked for social change through individual growth and empowerment.
• Political Experience: Had a profound depth and breadth of political experience, spanning over half a century.

Affiliations and Contributions

• Organizations Involved With:
  • NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People): Involved in the forties.
  • Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC): Involved in the fifties.
  • Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC): Active in the sixties.

Early Life and Influences

• Initial Involvement in Organizing:
  • The process of her becoming involved in organizing is not clearly defined.
  • Initially left college with conventional notions of personal success.
  • Intrigued by the diverse political environment of New York City.
• Impact of the Great Depression:
  • Rejected the “American illusion” that determination leads to success due to the economic dislocations of the Depression.

Career in Journalism and Organizing

• Journalism Background:
  • Worked on the editorial staffs of at least two newspapers:
  • American West Indian News
  • Negro National News
• Role in Young Negroes' Cooperative League:
  • Served as the national director between 1932 and 1934.
  • Focused on establishing stores, buying clubs to encourage poor communities to pool their purchasing power, and other cooperative ventures in Black neighborhoods.
• Labor Organization Engagement:
  • Worked with labor organizations in Harlem, such as:
  • Women's Day Workers
  • Industrial League
  • Focus on the issues faced by domestic workers.

NAACP Involvement

• Joining the NAACP:
  • In 1941, applied to the NAACP for a position as an assistant field secretary.
  • The role involved extensive travel across the Southern states raising funds, memberships, and awareness of the organization's relevance.
  • Worked particularly in Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and Virginia.
  • Gained exposure to diverse leadership styles and organizational structures, establishing numerous grassroots contacts for future initiatives.
• National Director of Branches:
  • Became the NAACP's National Director of Branches in 1943.
  • Critique of Organization:
  • Described the NAACP's programs as “stale and uninteresting.”
  • Criticized the leadership for being overly focused on recognition from white Americans and a middle-class agenda, lacking engagement with mass-based, confrontational politics.
  • Emphasized the importance of aggressive economic focus within the organization's agenda.
  • Noted that the organization became a victim of its own success, highlighting that legal victories led to a disconnect with grassroots membership.
• Concern for Local Engagement:
  • Argued for a greater focus on local branches rather than on the national office's centralized efforts.
  • Suggested recruiting low-income members by sending organizers into various local venues such as pool halls and taverns, where unexpected recruitment could occur.
  • In 1944, initiated regional leadership conferences (one attended by Rosa Parks) aimed at empowering local leaders to confront local issues as a reflection of broader social problems.

Leaving the NAACP

• Reasons for Departure:
  • Left national office in 1946, partially due to personal responsibilities (raising a niece) and ongoing conflicts with the organization's strategic perspectives.
• Other Engagements:
  • Worked as a fund-raiser for the National Urban League after her tenure at NAACP.