General Gordon Baker Jr. (September 6, 1941 – May 18, 2014) was an American labor organizer and activist.

Biography

General Baker was born in

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, where his parents had relocated from

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

so that his father could find work in the automotive industry. Baker graduated from Southwestern High School in 1958. As a student at

Wayne State University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, Baker studied the work of

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

and became involved in

socialism Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...

and

Black nationalism Black nationalism is a type of racial nationalism or pan-nationalism which espouses the belief that black people are a race, and which seeks to develop and maintain a black racial and national identity. Black nationalist activism revolves a ...

. In 1963 he co-founded UHURU (Swahili for "freedom"), an African-American student organization at Wayne. Baker visited

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in 1964 to study the Castro government. After returning to Detroit, he found work at the Dodge Main plant in

Hamtramck, Michigan Hamtramck ( ) is a city in Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the United States 2020 Census, 2020 census, the city population was 28,433. Hamtramck is surrounded by the city of Detroit except for a small portion that borders the ...

. In 1965, Baker wrote an open letter to the

draft board {{further, Conscription in the United StatesDraft boards are a part of the Selective Service System which register and select men of military age in the event of conscription in the United States. Local board The local draft board is a board tha ...

, refusing its request that he appear for an examination to determine his fitness to serve in the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

, a landmark in American draft resistance during that era. In the late 1960s, Baker was a co-founder of the

Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement The Dodge Revolutionary Union Movement (DRUM) was an organization of African-American workers formed in May 1968 in the Chrysler Corporation's Dodge Main assembly plant in Detroit, Michigan. History Detroit labor activist Martin Glaberman esti ...

(DRUM) and the

League of Revolutionary Black Workers The League of Revolutionary Black Workers (LRBW) formed in 1969 in Detroit, Michigan. The League united a number of different Revolutionary Union Movements (RUMs) that were growing rapidly across the auto industry and other industrial sectors—i ...

(LRBW). He was fired from his job after participating in a series of wildcat strikes, and was subsequently unable to find work in the industry until he applied under a false name at the Ford Rouge Plant in Dearborn, Michigan. Baker twice ran for public office, as a candidate for the

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2010 ...

in the late 1970s. 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. Baker died in Detroit of

congestive heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

, aged 72.

References

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. 1941 births 2014 deaths Activists from Detroit African-American trade unionists Members of the League of Revolutionary Black Workers Trade unionists from Michigan {{worker-activist-stub

Biography

See also

References

External links