General Baker
General Gordon Baker Jr. | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 6, 1941 |
| Died | May 18, 2014 (aged 72) |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Autoworker |
| Known for | Revolutionary Union Movement |
General Gordon Baker Jr. (September 6, 1941[1] – May 18, 2014[2]) was an American labor organizer and activist.
Biography
General Baker was born in
As a student at Wayne State University, Baker studied the work of Karl Marx and became involved in socialism and Black nationalism.[3] In 1963 he co-founded UHURU (Swahili for "freedom"), an African-American student organization at Wayne.[2]
Baker visited Cuba in 1964 to study the Castro government. After returning to Detroit, he found work at the Dodge Main plant in Hamtramck, Michigan.[3]
In 1965, Baker wrote an open letter to the draft board, refusing its request that he appear for an examination to determine his fitness to serve in the Vietnam War, a landmark in American draft resistance during that era.[2][4][5]
In the late 1960s, Baker was a co-founder of the
Baker twice ran for public office, as a candidate for the Michigan House of Representatives in the late 1970s.[7]
A leading member of the League of Revolutionaries for a New America (LRNA) for two decades beginning in the 1990s, Baker was chair of its steering committee.[2][5]
Baker died in Detroit of
See also
References
- ^ Goldberg, David. "Detroit's Radical". Jacobin. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ a b c d e Azikiwe, Abayomi. "General Gordon Baker, Jr.: Pioneer in African American working class resistance". Pambazuka News. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ a b c "General Baker Biography". Detroit African-American History Project. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- ^ Baker, General. "Letter to the Draft Board". Speakers for a New America. Retrieved 7 July 2014.
- ^ a b "General Gordon Baker". Speakers for a New America. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- ^ Donnelly, Francis X. "Advocate for auto workers never backed away from fight for rights". The Detroit News. Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
- ^ a b Schaefer, Jim. "General Baker Jr.: Activist, union leader 'loved the workers of the world'". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved July 7, 2014.
External links
- Dr. Louis Jones, "General Gordon Baker, Jr.: A Detroit Revolutionary to the Core"
- Todd Wolfson, "Remembering General Baker" (Archive link), Media Mobilizing Project, December 18, 2014.
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