movement death_place death_date birth_place birth_date spouse image article_title birth_name organization
american civil rights movement new york city , new york , usa 13 december 1986 norfolk , virginia , usa 13 december 1903 t.j. -lrb- bob -rrb- roberts , divorced 1958 ellabaker.jpg ella baker
 ella josephine baker naacp -- 1960 -rrb- sncc -lrb- 1960 -- 1962 -rrb- -lrb- 1938 -- 1953 -rrb- sclc -lrb- 1957
ella baker

ella josephine baker -lrb- december 13 , 1903 -- december 13 , 1986 -rrb- was an african-american civil rights and human rights activist .
she was a largely behind-the-scenes organizer whose career spanned over five decades .
she worked alongside some of the most famous civil rights leaders of the 20th century , including w. e. b. du bois , thurgood marshall , a. philip randolph , and martin luther king , jr. .
she also mentored many emerging activists such as diane nash , stokely carmichael , rosa parks , and bob moses .
she was a critic of professionalized , charismatic leadership and a promoter of grassroots organizing and radical democracy .
she has been called `` one of the most important african american leaders of the twentieth century and perhaps the most influential woman in the civil rights movement . ''
