Ella Baker

Baker organised NAACP branches across the South in the 1940s, helped found the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and in 1960 convened the meeting that created the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, insisting the students keep their independence. Her philosophy, 'strong people don't need strong leaders', meant developing local leaders rather than relying on charismatic figures. SNCC's voter registration work in Mississippi grew directly from her approach to organising.