Welcome to our first Pick of the Month! This month, it's about the role of black women in the Civil Rights Movement.
When you think of the Civil Rights Movement, who comes to mind? Malcolm X? John Lewis? Or maybe, Martin Luther King Jr.? What about the names Ella Baker, Ruby Bridges, and Dorothy Height? I’m sure that you knew who those men were, but the women didn’t ring a bell. This brings up an important question. Why is the first group more famous than the latter? Black women were the backbone of the movement, but are rarely recognized by the media, and the country in general. So today, we will be discussing some of the prominent women who were essential in the Civil Rights Movement.
Ella Baker
Ella Baker was born in Norfolk, VA in 1903. Her sense for social justice was developed early, due to her grandmother’s stories about life under slavery. She first started in the male dominated NAACP as a field secretary, and eventually rose to the position of director of branches. After the successful Montgomery Bus Boycott, she and many other leaders, including Dr. King decided to start an official organization called the SCLC to organize similar boycotts in the South. After some tension with the men in the organization who didn’t want women to have a big role in it, she left and soon co-founded SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) because she believed that student activists were essential to the movement.
Ruby Bridges
Although Ruby Bridges was not an activist involved in multiple organizations, she was still just as important to the movement. At the tender age of six, Ruby Bridges was the first African American child to integrate schools in New Orleans, Louisiana. On the first day, she and her mother had to be escorted by U.S Marshals, because of the taunts and threats leveraged against them. Only one teacher was willing to teach her, and no other students were in her class. Ruby was also not allowed to eat lunch in the cafeteria or play outside during recess with the other kids, because of the danger of violence towards her. Despite all this, she never missed a day of school.
Dorothy Height
Dorothy Height is known as the “Godmother of the Civil Rights Movement”, because of the extensive work she has done fighting for equal rights for African Americans since the 1930s. Also, Height helped organize events during the Civil Rights Movement, including the March on Washington in 1963. She was an influence on major leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis. Throughout her life, she advocated for women’s rights and was a trailblazer in her own right.
Ella Baker, Ruby Bridges and Dorothy Height are all examples of underappreciated women who have made significant contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. We have to make sure that these women get the recognition they deserve by remembering their inspiring accomplishments.
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