Ella Josephine Baker, a granddaughter of slaves, was born in Norfolk, VA., in 1903 and went on to engage in a lifetime of social activism. Her career included a stint at the Young Negroes Cooperative League, working at the NAACP as well as working with several women's organizations. In 1957, Baker moved to Atlanta to help organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), a new organization created by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. She went on to help organize with a group of college students and activists in Greensboro, N.C. who sparked a series of peaceful protests at a F.W. Woolworth store lunch counter that would gain national attention and also spark resistance across the South. Baker helped the students create the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), which played a major role in the 1960's civil rights movement.
-- Kevin Banatte and Kenneth Quinnell, AFL-CIO Now blog
Black History Month labor profiles will continue throughout the month. Don't forget that you can win one of 100 Black History Month posters by texting the code “BLACK” (for Black History Month) to 235246.