Georgia State University ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University African-American Studies Theses Department of African-American Studies 8-12-2016 They Had No King: Ella Baker and the Politics of Decentralized Organization Among African-Descended Populations John Horhn Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses Recommended Citation Horhn, John, "They Had No King: Ella Baker and the Politics of Decentralized Organization Among African- Descended Populations." Thesis, Georgia State University, 2016. https://scholarworks.gsu.edu/aas_theses/36 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Department of African-American Studies at ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. It has been accepted for inclusion in African-American Studies Theses by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks @ Georgia State University. For more information, please contact [email protected]. THEY HAD NO KING: ELLA BAKER AND THE POLITICS OF DECENTRALIZED ORGANIZATION AMONG AFRICAN-DESCENDED POPULATIONS by JOHN HORHN Under the Direction of Akinyele Umoja, PhD ABSTRACT The evolution of African stateless societies and the diverse impact of their cultures, on political thought previous to and post-modernity, are not well understood. Scholars acknowledge the varied influence of precolonial African culture on the artistic, spiritual, and linguistic expressions of African-descended populations. However, observations regarding the impact of such acephalous societies on the political thought of the African Diaspora remain obscure. The organizational techniques of such societies are best described as a form of kinship-based anarchism. This study seeks to examine the persistence of such organizational techniques among African-descended populations in the United States. The political life and background of Ella Baker will be used as a historical case study to illustrate the possible strands of continuity that may exist between the organizational habitude of African acephalous societies, and modern African-American grassroots political structures. KEY TERMS: Social anarchism, Grassroots organizing, Kinship, Stateless/Acephalous societies, Marronage, Ethnogenesis, Mesic islands, Ella Baker, Great Dismal Swamp THEY HAD NO KING: THE POLITICS OF DECENTRALIZED ORGANIZATION AMONG AFRICAN-DESCENDED POPULATIONS by JOHN HORHN A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University 2016 Copyright by John Horhn 2016 THEY HAD NO KING: THE POLITICS OF DECENTRALIZED ORGANIZATION AMONG AFRICAN-DESCENDED POPULATIONS by JOHN HORHN Committee Chair: Akinyele Umoja Committee: Makungu Akinyela Maurice Hobson Electronic Version Approved: Office of Graduate Studies College of Arts and Sciences Georgia State University May 2016 iv DEDICATION I would like to thank my family whose unwavering support enables me to step forward and introduce my ideas to the broader public. I would like to thank the women of my family, in particular my mother Lydia Horhn, for cultivating my adaptability in the face of perpetual change. I would like to thank my father, Sen. John Horhn, from whom I inherited my respect for the past. I would like to thank Lindsay whose vibrant intensity and passion has kindled the best in me during this process. I would like to thank my close friends whose thoughts and love has been a refuge for me in almost every way imaginable. Finally, I would like to thank my ancestors, known and unknown, for the sacrifices that inspired me to become the scholar that I am. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to acknowledge all of the instructors of the Georgia State African-American Studies department. In particular, I would like to acknowledge my chair Dr. Akinyele Umoja for dedicating extra time to developing my outlook as a professional scholar, while simultaneously serving as an example as a community activist deeply concerned with advancing the cause of his people. I would like to thank the members of my thesis committee, who bore the brunt of my academic naïveté, and found occasion to forge a scholar against the crucible of their collective scholarship. Dr. Makungu Akinyela, Dr. Cora Presley, and Dr. Harcourt Fuller all contributed to my development as an African-American Studies scholar. I salute the work you do, and cherish the trust you vested in me with regards to continuing the legacy of your work. I thank you all and will endeavor to honor all the virtues you have vested in me. I would like thank the late Sam Mbah for supplying the groundwork and courage needed to look at Africana political thought differently. I would like give a personal thank you to Dr. Maurice Hobson whose originality and candor served as an example for me during my matriculation through Georgia State University. I would also like to thank those scholars of the African-American Studies department who took time out of their schedules to lend encouragement and kind words. Dr. Bascomb, Dr. Davis, Dr. Gayles, I appreciate your energy and support. Last but not least, I would like to acknowledge my cohort members who through late nights and much discussion extolled one another on to greater achievements. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ............................................................................................. v LIST OF FIGURES ....................................................................................................... viii 1 INTRODUCTION ...................................................................................................... 1 1.1 The Political Relevance of West African Stateless Societies ........................... 4 1.2 North American marronage and the Great Dismal Swamp ........................... 7 1.3 The political lineage of Ella Baker and the Great Dismal Swamp ............... 10 1.4 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................. 13 1.4.1 African Stateless Societies into Colonial Era .............................................. 16 1.4.2 Maroon Societies and Notions of Statelessness ........................................... 17 1.4.3 Potential for Continuity of African Political Thought in the Americas ..... 18 1.5 Research Questions ........................................................................................... 18 1.6 Methodology ...................................................................................................... 19 1.7 Significance ........................................................................................................ 20 1.8 Chapter Summary ............................................................................................. 21 2 LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................................ 29 2.1 Academic Observations of African Stateless Societies................................... 30 2.2 Historiography of Maroon Societies in North America ................................. 32 2.3 Ella Baker in the Shadow of the Great Dismal Swamp Maroons ................. 36 3 Void, not Vacuum: Historical Treatment of Stateless Societies ............................ 46 vii 3.1 Igbo ..................................................................................................................... 48 3.2 Balanta................................................................................................................ 57 3.3 Diola .................................................................................................................... 64 3.4 Statelessness in the Atlantic World ................................................................. 71 4 Beasts of No Nation ................................................................................................... 78 4.1 The Birth of Maroon Societies ......................................................................... 80 4.2 Anatomy of the Great Dismal Swamp Maroon Culture ................................ 85 4.3 African Parallels in the Habitation of the Great Dismal Swamp ................. 89 4.4 Regional impact of the Great Dismal Swamp Maroons ................................ 93 4.5 The Underground Railroad and the Colored Monitor Union Club ............. 94 5 What’s in a King? ................................................................................................... 102 5.1 Ella Baker’s Family Background and Childhood ........................................ 104 5.2 Ella Baker’s development as a young activist ............................................... 112 5.3 Ella Baker’s grassroots philosophy and the Civil Rights Movement ......... 116 6 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................... 125 6.1 Future Directions and Limitations to Study ................................................. 127 BIBLOGRAPHY........................................................................................................... 130 APPENDICES ............................................................................................................... 138 Key Terms .................................................................................................................. 138 List of Abbreviations ................................................................................................. 139 viii LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1 Great Dismal Swamp Location Map ...............................................................................