The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

We are named after Ella Baker, a brilliant, black hero of the civil rights movement. Following in her footsteps, we build the power of black, brown, and poor people to break the cycles of incarceration and poverty and make our communities safe, healthy, and strong.

The Ella Baker Center for Human Rights was founded in 1996 by Van Jones and Diana Frappier. Throughout their history, they have engaged in campaigns related to civic engagement, violence prevention, the green jobs movement, juvenile justice, and police brutality.

Our successes…have led us to our core focus: to build a movement for Truth and Reinvestment. Our nation’s long history of racial injustice has created a criminal justice system that targets black, brown, and poor people. To move forward, we must reckon with this truth and reinvest in the communities that have been most harmed.

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