Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker

Presented in conjunction with Tomashi Jackson: Love Rollercoaster and in collaboration with Ohio State’s Rare Books & Manuscripts Library, the film offers a terrific introduction to the pathbreaking life and contributions of Baker, a foundational figure of this country’s civil rights movement and the “godmother” of the pivotal Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, through which Baker worked alongside Martin Luther King Jr. and John Lewis, among others. As Harry Belafonte—actor, singer, activist, and the film’s narrator—observes, "Fundi fills a gap for those who know little of the history of the black struggle [and] is a compelling portrait of an extraordinary woman who…devoted her life to struggle and to the people who take part in it." (63 mins., digital video). Closed captioning available.

Ohio State’s Rare Books & Manuscripts Library holds the Joanne Grant papers. While an accomplished journalist, writer, and activist, Grant had no filmmaking experience prior to making Fundi. Watch a behind-the-scenes video on the Grant collection by Jolie Braun, Assistant Professor and Curator of Modern Literature and Manuscripts, University Libraries.