Ray Stannard Baker (April 17, 1870 – July 12, 1946)[1][2] (also known by his pen name David Grayson) was an American journalist, historian, biographer, and writer.

In 1898,[3] Baker joined the staff of McClure's, a pioneer muckraking magazine, and quickly rose to prominence along with Lincoln Steffens and Ida Tarbell.

In 1908, after the 1906 Atlanta Race Riot got him involved, Baker published the book Following the Color Line: An Account of Negro Citizenship in the American Democracy, becoming the first prominent journalist to examine America's racial divide; it was extremely successful.

Sociologist Rupert Vance says it is: ... the best account of race relations in the South during the period–one that reads like field notes for the future historian.

In 1912, Baker published The Friendly Road, an account of the places he visited and people he met while on a walking tour of the United States.