BEGIN:VCALENDAR PRODID:-//http://www.greaterdiversity.com//NONSGML jCal Pro 2.2.1.191// VERSION:2.0 BEGIN:VEVENT UID:ee6e0e9da717c9c754ee8b5f0791be24http://greaterdiversity.com DTSTAMP:20130519T115812Z CONTACT:North Carolina Department of Cultural Resources \n109 East Jones S treet \nRaleigh\, North Carolina 27601\n(919) 807-7385 DESCRIPTION:

Ella Baker grew up in Halifax County and dedicated her life to advancing civil rights for African Americans. She had a 'habit of push ing the boundaries of acceptable behavior for a respectable\, middle-clas s\, married woman during the 1940s\,' according to biographer Barbara Ran sby. \n

Her life's work is being recognized with the dedication of a N.C. Highway Historical mark er on Sunday\, June 24\, at 2 p.m. at Roanoke Chapel Baptist Church\, 1991 Roanoke Chapel Rd.\, Littleton\, N.C. The marker will be erec ted the following week in Littleton.

Baker moved to New York in 1930 and began work with the National Assoc iation for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1940 as field sec retary\, rising to director of branches. She was the only woman present as Martin Luther King\, Jr. and others planned to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). After the Feb. 1\, 1960\, Green sboro sit-ins\, Baker organized the meeting at Shaw University in April 1 960 that gave rise to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC ). SNCC members were the 'shock troops' of the civil rights movement\, a nd called by historian John Hope Franklin 'probably the most courageous a nd the most selfless' of the 1960s activists.

Baker mentored John Lewis\, Julian Bond\, Marion Barry\, and other SNCC members who became prominent. She is also called 'the mother of the civil rights movement' by Duke University historian William Chafe . Baker counseled 'Give light and people will find a way....The struggl e is eternal.' She died in 1986 and is buried in Queens\, N.Y. The Ella Baker Center in Oakland\, Calif. honors her memory and legacy.

For additional information call Michael Hill at (919) 807-7290. For information on the program call Florine Bell at (252) 537-9843. The N.C. Highway Histor ical Marker Program is part of the Office of Archives and History in the N.C. Department of Cult ural Resources.

DTEND;TZID= -0500:20120624T150000 DTSTART;TZID= -0500:20120624T140000 LAST-MODIFIED:20120618T162000Z SUMMARY:N.C. Highway Historical Marker Recognizes Civil Rights Activist A nd Mentor Ella Baker URL:http://ncdcr.gov / ncculture.com/ END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR