Introduction
The American citizens who participated in the Civil Rights Movement were the most dedicated people who fought racial discrimination and injustice. Ella Baker and Septima Clark are the most notable among these outstanding personalities because their strategies and how they went about things pushed the course of the movement significantly.
Background
Ella Barker and Septima Clark were both important people in the movement for civil rights. However, they were different from each other in the context that they played their roles from unique backgrounds and with diverse experiences. Baker, an experienced organizer, and Clark, a teacher, were both key to the struggle for racial discrimination. According to Kalenda (p.3), The presence of Baker in the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) and Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SCLC) gave her much attention, while Clark, being the founder of citizenship school, gave her enough fame, too.
Ideas and Strategies Contributed
The work of the bakers was more of organizing at the local level and giving more power to local people in the neighborhood. She advocated for participatory democracy and collective leadership, which was obvious in her very important formulation of the first “Ella Baker and SNCC” meeting, which was an insightful stage for the SNCC. While Kleckley believed that education only empowered one individual, Clark saw education as a way of changing society, with civic schools being created to teach Blacks how to read, write, and register to vote.
Similarities
Baker Ella and Septima Clarke were the people, and the struggle with civil rights meant the same thing to them, which was race justice and equality. Although their approaches were different, both of them were really strong in fighting against racism and discrimination that were deeply rooted in American society(Ransby p. 10). The fact of all of them wanting equality of the races brought them together, even though they had one way of doing it. Ella Baker’s plan was on working at the community level to increase the powers of the local people. She believed that collective action and leadership at all levels could help people to make a difference and bring about real change. It is evident that Baker was an essential figure in the creation of the SCLC and SNCC. She said she would start by focusing on communities so as to give those who have been sidelined in decision-making process a feeling of ownership and control.
Differences
Septima Clark, by contrast, was interested in using education to help the people train them to have more power. Clark was one of the early ones to start citizenship schools since he realized how critical it was to educate the people about literacy and politics in order to fight for the rights of all races. Besides reading and writing, African Americans were also equipped with the necessary skills to be politically active that was a reaction to the racism discrimination which had become a normal thing in the system of the Jim Crow South(Patrick p.12)
While Clark championed the idea of education as a way to empower people, Baker focused on developing grassroots organisations. It is being demonstrated thus; they are all an interrelated strategies in the bigger fight against civil rights. Therefore, the alignment of their work with the grand goal of beating racial injustice demonstrates the different measures designed by human rights activists. The combined efforts of Baker and Clark to fight for justice indicate that everyone, including those who have privilege, needs to work together to enact meaningful social change. Despite the fact that they were very different, their acts of courage and willingness to stand for justice are still being imitated by modern-day activists, demonstrating that their goals are still crucial in the war for human rights.
Impacts on the Civil Rights Movement
The change of the civil rights movement was originating from the organization of baker at the local levels. This frustrated the established way of doing things and set up the path for community-based actions in the long run and inspired a new generation of activists. Moreover, C. T. Vivian’s literacy schools assisted many Americans to become registered voters and participate in political parties which brought the Voting Rights Act of 1965 into office(Livia p.4). They approximated each other’s efforts so that the Civil Rights Movement could reach more people and therefore became a more successful movement which led to many changes in both the law and people’s acceptance.
Conclusion
Lastly, Ella Baker and Septima Clark are representations of the unmatched spirit of the American Civil Rights Movement. Both of them left permanent mark with their own individual but coordinated contributions. The torch passed on from today’s activists still feels the heat of the unyielding persistence of their quest for fairness and justice, which re-affirms how instrumental they are in the struggle for civil rights.
Works Cited
Kalenda Eaton. “No.2 NEVERTHELESS, THEY PERSISTED: BLACK WOMEN AND THE FIRE …” JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/10.5323/blachistbull.82.2.0012.
Livia Gershon. “How Septima Poinsette Clark Spoke Up for Civil Rights.” JSTOR Daily, daily.jstor.org/how-septima-clark-spoke-up-for-civil-rights/.
Patrick Saunders. “Septima Clark was the teacher of the civil rights movement.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, www.ajc.com/news/septima-clark-was-the-teacher-of-the-civil-rights-movement/CZSM4IT56RC4FFMMLD7L53YLPA/.
Ransby, Barbara. Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement. University of North Carolina Press.
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