Ella Baker Statue Dedication

Panel, film and dedication

4-5:30 p.m., Reese Center

Reception to follow (5:30-6 p.m.)

Q&A with artist and panel, heavy appetizers and desserts

“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 will help to tell a fuller narrative of the Civil Rights Movement.”  

This statue is the work of Dana King, a renowned artist who describes her specialty as sculpting “Black bodies in bronze.” King’s creations include statues of Huey Newton, commissioned for the Black Panther Party’s 55th anniversary celebration in Oakland, Calif., and Ida B. Wells, the first statue of a Black woman in Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York City. Her piece depicting Ella Baker will be her ninth public work, spanning five states. 

The unveiling event will begin with a panel discussion between university scholars and fellow Civil Rights activist Courtland Cox. The conversation will start at 4 p.m. in the ballroom of the John Gilbert Reese Center. A short documentary about the creation of the statue — produced by a former Ohio State Newark student and featuring interviews with Baker scholars, Civil Rights activists and King — will be shown at the conclusion of the panel. 

Vice Provost of the Arts Lisa Florman and Ohio State Newark Dean and Director Matt Smith, PhD, will lead the dedication ceremony around 5:15 p.m. at the statue site outside the Reese Center. Following the reveal, a short reception will be held in the Reese Center atrium.  

This event is open to the public. RSVPs are encouraged but not required. To register, visit go.osu.edu/bakerdedication.