Ella Baker Center for Human Rights

Jakada Imani. Jakada became Ella Baker Center's Executive Director in 2007, after serving as a lead strategist and chief team member on some of Ella Baker Center's most high profile campaigns for eight years. Prior to becoming Executive Director, Jakada directed Books Not Bars, taking the ongoing campaign to replace California's abusive youth prisons with effective rehabilitation programs to ever-increasing heights. Jakada… See full bio.

The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at feedback@myphilanthropedia.org with your request.

Story: What was one of the first cases Ella Baker Center for Human Rights won? In 1995, San Francisco police officer Marc Andaya killed unarmed black man Aaron Williams. Andaya led a team of cops in viciously beating and kicking Williams, emptying three cans of pepper spray into his face, and hogtying him in an unventilated police van where he died. Andaya was a known loose cannon. He had already killed another unarmed black man and had 37 formal complaints of racism and brutality and five lawsuits filed against him. But the local media cast Andaya as the victim and Williams as the criminal. And the San Francisco Police Commission dismissed disciplinary charges against the officers. That's when Bay Area Police Watch (what Ella Baker Center was called initially) got involved. Bay Area Police Watch helped lead a community-based justice campaign that put Andaya on public trial for killing Williams. After a long, seesaw battle that nobody thought the community could win, the Police Commission finally did the right the thing and fired Andaya from the San Francisco Police Department. This improbable, unprecedented victory filled everyone at Ella Baker Center with the feeling that anything was possible. It set the stage for the growth spurt that followed. (Learn more about the history and founding of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights at: http://www.ellabakercenter.org/page.php?pageid=19&contentid=152)

Evidence of Impact Summary:

The Ella Baker Center has been a leader at making climate change a central issue for local public policy and movement building. Through their Oakland Green Collar Jobs campaign, coordination of the Oakland Climate Action Coalition, and their many initiatives at the state-level (CA Green Stimulus) they have been able frame the climate change debate such that it includes the interests of low-income people of color.
See expert comments.

Organization Strengths Summary:

Experts agree that Ella Baker Center for Human Rights has very strong leadership, a diverse staff, and a great communications strategy to get maximum impact.
See expert comments.

Areas for Improvement Summary:

The only complaint one expert cites is staff turnover.
See expert comments.

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.

Show:

Jakada became Ella Baker Center's Executive Director in 2007, after serving as a lead strategist and chief team member on some of Ella Baker Center's most high profile campaigns for eight years. Prior to becoming Executive Director, Jakada directed Books Not Bars, taking the ongoing campaign to replace California's abusive youth prisons with effective rehabilitation programs to ever-increasing heights. Jakada helped lead the successful Stop the Super Jail Campaign, a two-year effort to stop Alameda County from building a massive, expensive and remote juvenile hall that it didn't need. He was a leader in the Justice for Moreno and Pacheco Campaign, the successful fight to free two wrongly convicted Latino boys in Solano County. And he ran Ella Baker Center's youth organizing project, Third Eye Movement, during the No on 21 campaign to educate voters about the dangers of Proposition 21, a draconian ballot measure aimed at putting 14-year-olds in adult courts and 16-year-olds in adult prisons. Before joining Ella Baker Center staff, Jakada was a Constituent Liaison for Oakland City Councilwoman Nancy Nadel. He helped launch or lead a number of important Bay Area organizations, including Empowered Youth Educating Society (EYES), Rising Youth for Social Equality (RYSE) and Underground Railroad (an artist collective). Born and raised in Oakland, California, Jakada is the father of four powerful and creative young girls. You can read his articles on Ella's Voice as well follow his contributions to City Brights and the Huffington Post.

The nonprofit has not added any comments yet. If you are a representative of this nonprofit and would like to leave a comment, please email us at feedback@myphilanthropedia.org with your request.