Fundi: The Story of Ella Baker
Black History Month 2025
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1h 3m
Directed by Joanne Grant • Documentary • 1981 • 63 minutes
FUNDI: THE STORY OF ELLA BAKER reveals the instrumental role that Ella Baker, a friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, played in shaping the American civil rights movement. The dynamic activist was affectionately known as the Fundi, a Swahili word for a person who passes skills from one generation to another.
By looking at the 1960s from the perspective of Baker, the 'godmother of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee,' FUNDI adds an essential understanding of the U.S. civil rights movement.
"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 has devoted her life to struggle and to the people who take part in it." —Harry Belafonte
"FUNDI does exactly what Ella Baker does: it gives us the courage to act on our own - and to affect the future." —Gloria Steinem
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