48 minutes / Color
Release: 1981
Copyright: 1981
FUNDI: THE STORY OF ELLA BAKER reveals the instrumental role that Ella Baker, a friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr., 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.
This film is also available in a longer 63-minute version that is available on DVD as well as for educational streaming with Docuseek.
"FUNDI does exactly what Ella Baker does: it gives us the courage to act on our own—and to affect the future." —Gloria Steinem
"FUNDI, the powerful film account of Ella Baker's contributions, can enrich us immeasurably, adding depth and texture to our understanding of an important part of our past, inspiring us with examples of lives lived fully and purposefully." —Harvard Educational Review
"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 restores Ella Baker, the 'godmother of the SNCC,' to her place in the history of the civil rights movement. Rrecisely and elegantly executed... there's no pomposity, no false reverence - at least none that Baker herself can't cut right through." —Pat Aufderheide, Ph.D.
Select Accolades
Friend and advisor to Martin Luther King, Jr., Ella Baker played an instrumental role in shaping the American civil rights movement. 63-minute version.
Joanne Grant | 1981 | 63 minutes | Color
Named to the National Film Registry at the Library of Congress and preserved by the Smithsonian's National Museum of African American History and Culture, Madeline Anderson’s essential work brings viewers to the front lines of the fight for civil rights.
Madeline Anderson | 1970 | 30 minutes | Color | Closed Captioned
One black family's commitment to a quality education, from the pre-1965 time of segregation, through desegregation, and through the recent period of resegregation. **Winner, John E. O'Connor Film Award, American Historical Association**
Chea Prince | 2003 | 56 minutes | Color | English
Oscar-shortlist selection, this is the definitive account of Loving v. Virginia, the landmark 1967 Supreme Court decision that legalized interracial marriage.
Nancy Buirski | 2012 | 77 minutes | Color | English
