Ry Walker-Hartshorn
Professor Allyson Hobbs
African American Women’s
Lives
March 6, 2017
A Letter to Ella Baker
Dearest
Ella,
You were a principled woman. You were a
woman grounded in her morals, one who stood tall in her truth. Your courage,
strength and leadership reverberated all throughout the nation, from the north
to the south. Most importantly, your voice reached the most vulnerable folks in
society, those African Americans trapped in the violent South while
experiencing heighten levels of racial violence, economic instability and
educational inequality. Throughout her biography, Barbara Ransby repeatedly
mentions your efforts to center the Black liberation movement around the most
marginalized. Ransby makes it impossible for one to forget or to confuse your
desire to connect with the poorest and most uneducated Black folks in the
South. To be specific, Ransby tells us that you, “emphasized that when the
privileged took it upon themselves to seek for the underprivileged, the whole
movement was in danger of losing its direction”(305). This resonated with me
because in the world I live in, my generation has birthed a movement called #blacklivesmatter.
This movement has every intention of empowering and liberating Black folks,
however as a Black community we often fail to center our political actions on
the most marginalized groups, which happen to be Black women, Black LGTBQ and
Black poor folks. This puts #blacklivesmatter in danger of losing its direction
and it is fascinating to read about your struggles and how they are somewhat
similar to the issues facing my generation.
Also,
Ms. Ella Baker, I have to let you know that when reading about all of the work
you have done for the liberation of Black folks, I became overwhelmed with
emotions. At first my face turned red and my cheeks became hot, and then my eyes
became glassy as gloomy despair rolled in and covered my face like storm clouds in the sky. I was hurt
in that moment, not because of what you did but because it dawned on me that I was learning
about you and your life for the first time. It took 22 years for me to learn of
your courage, sacrifice and dedication. I would have loved to learn about you
as a little girl; I can’t imagine how my life might have been different if I
grew up with a role model like you. Learning about the freedom summer and the
racial violence you and all your companions endured. How did you not quit? How did you keep going
forward? How did you keep fighting? What was your inspiration? Ms. Ella Baker,
I have so many questions for you, yet I’m only left with my imagination. I hope that one night we will meet in my dreams and you can tell me your secrets so that
when I wake up I can continue where you left off.
With
love and passion,
Ry
Dear Ry,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for your kind words. Don't be upset that you are just now learning about me. Knowledge of and praise for my work is never something I aspired to have, but rather the mere fact that your generation is able to live with unimaginable freedoms and that you all continue to fight for the rights of marginalized black people brings me joy.
There were many obstacles that threatened the efficacy of our civil rights work in the South, and surprisingly, much of it came from the ranks of our own black leadership. It was often frustrating to have decisions that could mean life or death for some blacks delayed because of petty politics between civil rights organizations, bruised egos of Southern clergymen, and an over-obsession with the image of the black community to white America. Yet, in all of this, we were neglecting some of our most marginalized people, blacks in remote rural areas. For this reason, I was excited to leave New York and travel to the South where I would eventually find my way to Mississippi by way of Atlanta.
Freedom is not a struggle limited to the big city. It must be a wholesome effect upon an entire community, and that is what inspired me to keep going in places like the beast of Mississippi even after great successes in the South such as the Montgomery Bus Boycott. We couldn't stop until every black hand had the legal, uninhibited right to cast a ballot. I was energized by the grassroots organizing of SNCC and its students who had a fire that I could find nowhere else in the black community.
My biggest advice to you as a young activist is to never be afraid to lean on the passion and fire of your youth to effect change. However, with that being said, don't learn to despise the necessity of thorough planning before acting. Finally, continue to understand that the black experience is not the same for all people, and sometimes, working to bring about change in a new area requires that you first listen to and learn from the people there.
With love and service,
Ella