“Ella Baker was a key figure in the Civil Rights Movement — the most important movement of the 20th century — yet has often gone unrecognized,” said Tiyi Morris, associate professor of African American and African studies at Ohio State Newark. “Depicting and celebrating Baker as an inspiration, teacher, mentor and key facilitator to younger generations of activists helps tell a fuller narrative of the Civil Rights Movement.”
The statue was installed on Ohio State Newark’s campus between the John Gilbert Reese Center and the LeFevre Hall. It’s the work of Dana King, a renowned artist who describes her specialty as sculpting “Black bodies in bronze.” This piece is her ninth public work, spanning five states. “I create sculpture because it inhabits space — and space is power,” King said during the event. “Ella Baker and the people of her age fought for freedom and basic rights they didn’t have. It’s now incumbent upon us to not lose that fight. That’s what this sculpture is about. I’m so grateful it’s seen as something necessary for this campus.”
The program began with a panel discussion between university scholars and fellow Civil Rights activist Courtland Cox. It also included the screening of a short documentary about the creation of the statue, produced by a former Ohio State Newark student.
King, Ohio State Vice Provost of the Arts Lisa Florman and Ohio State Newark Dean and Director Matt Smith, PhD, led the dedication ceremony, which closed with the statue reveal. “This work asks us to join with others in making positive change,” Florman said. “Here at Ohio State Newark, it does so primarily of students — the young people that Ella Baker saw as the hope of any movement. It’s a fitting tribute and an inspiring reminder of Baker’s life and work.”
