Baker helped establish the SCLC, becoming its first executive director.
On February 14, 1957, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) was formed to harness the power of Black churches in the fight for civil rights, born from the Montgomery Bus Boycott's success. Ella Baker became a co-founder and first full-time executive director, pivotal in shaping its grassroots organizing strategy. She concentrated on sustaining momentum through broad-based activism beyond traditional church structures. Her influence catalyzed a participatory approach that was essential to enduring activism, embedding community action at the core of the civil rights movement.