James W. Baker was a longtime attorney who joined his father’s law practice in 1951 with his brother, Oscar, and voluntary left the firm in 1987 to promote better communication between African-Americans and whites. Joy A. Baker taught school in Bay City for more than 20 years before becoming the Bay City Public Schools’ first female African-American administrator. She also taught as an adjunct faculty at Delta College. Mr. Baker passed away in 2003. Mrs. Baker passed away in 2012. The couple’s longtime friends, Jack and Alice Wirt, established this scholarship endowment as a tribute to the Bakers.
