Ella Baker: “The Black Woman in the Civil Rights Struggle” (1969)
Much of what Ella Baker said and wrote has been lost. She did not commit her speeches to paper, and the ones that survive have been reconstructed from notes or tapes made while Baker spoke. “The Black Woman in the Civil Rights Struggle,” one of few remaining records of her many speeches, has historical significance because it provides an example of her remarkable ability to galvanize audiences with her speeches. The topic of this speech was one of her preoccupations: the contributions of women to the civil rights movement.
New York City Mayor Robert Wagner greeting the teenagers who integrated Central High School, Little Rock (Library of Congress)
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