Ella Baker and the black freedom movement gender & american culture coeditors Thadious M. Davis Linda K. Kerber editorial advisory board Nancy Cott Cathy N. Davidson Jane Sherron De Hart Sara Evans Mary Kelley Annette Kolodny Wendy Martin Nell Irvin Painter Janice Radway Barbara Sicherman Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement a radical democratic vision Barbara Ransby The University of North Carolina Press Chapel Hill & London ∫ 2003 The University of North Carolina Press All rights reserved Set in Charter and Meta types by Keystone Typesetting, Inc. Manufactured in the United States of America Excerpt from Mississippi Goddam by Nina Simone ∫ 1964 (renewed) WB Music Corp. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Warner Bros. Publications U.S., Inc., Miami, FL 33014. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Ransby, Barbara. Ella Baker and the Black freedom movement: a radical democratic vision / Barbara Ransby. p. cm.—(Gender and American culture) Includes bibliographical references (p. ) and index. isbn 0-8078-2778-9 (alk. paper) 1. Baker, Ella, 1903–1986. 2. African American women civil rights workers—Biography. 3. Civil rights workers—United States—Biography. 4. Civil rights movements—United States—History—20th century. 5. African Americans—Civil rights—History—20th century. 6. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People—Biography. 7. Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party—Biography. 8. Southern States—Race relations. 9. United States—Race relations. I. Title. II. Series: Gender & American culture e185.97.b214 r36 2003 323%.092—dc21 2002153275 cloth070605040354321 contents Acknowledgments xi Abbreviations xix Introduction 1 1. Now, Who Are Your People?: Norfolk, Virginia, and Littleton, North Carolina, 1903–1918 13 2. A Reluctant Rebel and an Exceptional Student: Shaw Academy and Shaw University, 1918–1927 46 3. Harlem during the 1930s: The Making of a Black Radical Activist and Intellectual 64 4. Fighting Her Own Wars: The naacp National Office, 1940–1946 105 5. Cops, Schools, and Communism: Local Politics and Global Ideologies—New York City in the 1950s 148 6. The Preacher and the Organizer: The Politics of Leadership in the Early Civil Rights Movement 170 7. New Battlefields and New Allies: Shreveport, Birmingham, and the Southern Conference Education Fund 209 8. Mentoring a New Generation of Activists: The Birth of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, 1960–1961 239 9. The Empowerment of an Indigenous Southern Black Leadership, 1961–1964 273 10. Mississippi Goddamn: Fighting for Freedom in the Belly of the Beast of Southern Racism 299 11. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and the Radical Campaigns of the 1960s and 1970s 330 12. A Freirian Teacher, a Gramscian Intellectual, and a Radical Humanist: Ella Baker’s Legacy 357 Appendix. Ella Baker’s Organizational Affiliations, 1927–1986 375 Notes 377 Bibliography 425 Index 451 illustrations Ella Baker in The Crisis magazine, 1932 197 Ella Baker, ca. 1942 198 Ella Baker with naacp colleagues, September 1945 199 Ella Baker at naacp fair, 1950s 199 Ella Baker in Shreveport, Louisiana, 1959 200 Ella Baker and Myles Horton, ca. 1960 200 Ella Baker smiling, 1962 201 Ella Baker, Fannie Lou Hamer, Eleanor Holmes Norton, Stokely Carmichael, and others, 1964 202 Ella Baker in Atlantic City, New Jersey, 1964 202 Ella Baker in Jackson, Mississippi, 1964 203 Ella Baker singing at scef luncheon, 1970s 204 Ella Baker at Angela Davis rally, 1972 205 Ella Baker with David Dellinger and Marilyn Clement, 1980 206 Ella Baker with William Kunstler and Marilyn Clement, 1980 206 Ella Baker in her Harlem apartment, 1984 207 Ella Baker, Jackie Brockington, and Carolyn Brockington, 1985 208 acknowledgments This book has taken me on a long and circuitous path, which began in 1989 when I chose to research the life of Ella Baker as a dissertation topic. Since that time I have encountered many wonderful fellow travelers, and experi- enced difficult detours along the way. One of my children grew up, another was born, and both my parents passed away. Political struggles and per- sonal commitments repeatedly pulled me away from the task of research and writing. If it takes a community to raise a child, it certainly takes a community to produce a book. Many people have contributed to this book directly and indirectly, and it would be disrespectful to Ella Baker’s memory if I did not take time and space to recognize them. I must first express my appreciation to Ella Baker’s family, especially her niece Jackie Brockington, who died months before the book was published, who, along with Joanne Grant, gave me early and extensive access to Ella Baker’s papers when they were still housed at her old apartment in Harlem. Jackie never said, ‘‘No,’’ to anything I asked for—photographs, copies of documents, or a few hours of her time. I was touched that she always asked about my family and trusted me with the precious memories of hers. She exemplified those fine quali- ties for which others praised her beloved aunt Ella. I regret terribly that she did not live to see the completion of the book. I am also deeply indebted to Joanne Grant, whose documentary Fundi brought Ella Baker to life for my generation and whose own biography of Baker made a vital contribution. Joanne was a friend and colleague throughout the writing of my disserta- tion. In the spirit of Ella Baker, we chose to cooperate and coexist rather than compete in our efforts to tell her story in our own words. We agreed early on that there was certainly room for two Ella Baker biographies. I have had the benefit of quite a number of amazing readers and re- searchers who have made invaluable contributions to this project. Cathy Cohen, my dear friend and adopted sister, has been a glowing inspiration and an unwavering source of support. During our morning phone conver- sations, at our respective computers, she often began with the question, ‘‘How’s Ella?’’—as if checking in on an ailing family member. She read large portions of the manuscript and opened her home and her heart at critical junctures. Tracye Matthews, friend, colleague, reader, research associate, fellow activist, and birthing coach, read, edited, and dug up details to help move this book along. The photo of Ella Baker that she gave me has hung above my computer for six years now. My dear friend Premilla Nadasen schlepped down to the Municipal Archives in New York and ma- neuvered her way around bureaucratic hurdles to get access to Ella Baker’s divorce records. She and her family then welcomed me into their Mount Vernon, New York, home for a weeklong writing retreat in the summer of 2001 to finish one round of revisions on the book. Thanks to Billy Gladstone for keeping the coffee brewed and Tyler Kirin for being a delightful distrac- tion during my stay. Gerald Horne is a generous colleague who, when I asked him to read 500 pages in a week, responded that he would be honored. Timothy Ty- son and John Dittmer were also extremely knowledgeable and thoughtful readers and continue to be treasured colleagues, who remind me with their own sterling examples that we can love our subjects and still write damn good history books. And I will be ever grateful to the amazing Charles Payne, whose own work helped to bring Ella Baker to a wider audience and who nudged me along for years with hugs, gentle criticism, profound in- sights, and words of reassurance. Martha Biondi took time away from her own book-writing to read and comment on my manuscript. Her comments have strengthened the final product, and her professional and political example continues to strengthen my resolve. I would also like to thank scholar-activist Leith Mullings for her generous reading of several chapters. Colleagues of mine at the University of Illinois at Chicago—Sue Levine, Bill Ayers, Amanda Lewis, John D’Emilio, and Eric Arnesen—read the manuscript carefully and provided enormously helpful suggestions and comments. John and I have had many wonderful Ella and Bayard lunches to talk about our tandem biographies. We all anxiously await what promises to be the definitive biography on Bayard Rustin. Aldon Morris introduced me to Ella Baker in his civil rights seminar fif- teen years ago, and I am ever grateful. He continues to be a friend, mentor, and colleague. Clayborne Carson, Susan Carson, Stewart Burns, and the staff at the King Papers Project were enormously helpful to me at the early stages of this project during the week I spent at Stanford. They provided advice, information about historical documents and obscure archives, and a friendly and intellectually stimulating environment. Daniel Holliman xii acknowledgments aided me in digging up information in George Schuyler’s papers at Syra- cuse University at a moment when timing was everything. Herbert Hill welcomed me into his home, fed me a fine meal, and shared important insights and recollections. On a separate occasion in another city, Lenora Taitt-Magubane did the same thing. Other researchers have sent me little treasures—letters, news clippings, and interviews—to fatten my already engorged Ella Baker files. For these contributions, I thank John Bracey, Jerry Markowitz, Andrea Vasquez, John Thornbery, Julius Scott, Pam Sporn, Archie Allen, Wendy Plotkin, and Kathleen Cleaver. Penny Von Es- chen and Kevin Gaines have also been wonderful colleagues and support- ive friends. Vincent Harding’s support is also much appreciated. I owe still another enormous debt to historians Nell Painter, Linda Ker- ber, and Linda Gordon, all notoriously busy women who took time out to read my manuscript and offer suggestions and kind words of encourage- ment.