Ida B. Wells, Anti-Lynching Crusader ‘Who is Ida B. Wells?’ Some people could say she was a daughter, a sister, a wife, and a mother. Some could even say she was simply just another human being. However, this does not answer the question of why students continue to learn about her to this day. Perhaps, the more appropriate question to propose is: ‘Who was Ida B. Wells and why is she so significant in American history?’ First, to understand who Ida B. Wells was and why she is so important, one must develop a knowledge of what Wells’ background consisted of, and where her morals and values stem from. Ida B. Wells was born as a slave on July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, to parents James and Elizabeth Wells, to whom she became …show more content…
There is no demand for reasons, or need of concealment for what no one is held responsible. The simple word of any white person against a Negro is sufficient to get a crowd of white men to lynch a Negro. Investigation as to the guilt or innocence of the accused is never made. Under these conditions, white men have only to blacken their faces, commit crimes against the peace of the community, accuse some Negro, nor rest till he is killed by a mob. Will Lewis, an 18 year old Negro youth was lynched at Tullahoma, Tennessee, August 1891, for being “drunk and saucy to white folks” (Duster …show more content…
Wells?’ She was the first most prominent, African-American woman who led a one woman nationwide antilynching crusade. Her experiences set an example for future activists in all walks of life. Her passion, spirit, hopes, and dedication to fairness and justice exemplify what it truly is to take a stand in the face of oppression and to never back down even when all seems to be going the wrong way.
Works Cited
Duster, Michelle. Ida: In Her Own Words. The timeless writings of Ida B. Wells from 1893.
Illinois: Benjamin Williams Publishing, 2008. Print.
Fradin, Dennis, and Judith Fradin. Ida B. Wells, Mother of the Civil Rights Movement. New
York: Clarion Books, 2000. Print.
Sterling, Dorothy. Black Foremothers. New York: The Feminist Press, 1988. Print.
Biography.com Editors. “Ida B. Wells Biography.” The Biography.com website. A&E
Television Networks. N.d. Web. 20 October 2015.
Lewis, Jone Johnson. “Ida B. Wells-Barnett: A Lifetime Working Against Racism
Ida B. Wells, an African-American woman, and feminist, shaped the image of empowerment and citizenship during post-reconstruction times. The essays, books, and newspaper articles she wrote, instigated the dialogue of race struggles between whites and blacks, while her personal narratives, including two diaries, a travel journal, and an autobiography, recorded the personal struggle of a woman to define womanhood during post-emancipation America. The novel, _THEY SAY: IDA B. WELLS AND THE RECONSTRUCTION OF RACE_ , provides an insight into how Ida B. Wells's life paralleled that of
Another way that white southerners were able to rolled back many of the rights held by African Americans is by lynching. Lynch is a mob of people killed, especially by hanging, for an alleged offense with or without a legal trial. The primary source, ““Lynch Law in America” the author Ida B. Wells organized a national fight against lynching in the early twentieth century. Born a slave, Wells became a teacher and civil rights leader in Memphis, Tennessee. When a white mob lynched three of her friends, she helped organize a black boycott of white-owned businesses and wrote harsh editorials in her own newspaper. According to Wells, lynching “ It represents the cool, calculating deliberation of intelligent people who openly avow that there is
Ida B. Wells lived during the late 19th and early 20th century, fighting for civil and women’s rights movements. She was a well-established journalist and most famous for her anti-lynching campaigns. Born in 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Ida lived with her parents until they and her youngest brother were killed by a severe yellow fever epidemic. Left with her five remaining siblings, she took the responsibility of being their primary caregiver. Deciding to move to Memphis with her aunt, Wells became a leading woman figure in the African-American community that she had been living in. “By her late twenties, Wells had become one of the preeminent female journalists of her day, and the editor and co-owner of the Memphis, Tennessee, newspaper Free Speech and Headlight” (page 4). Also launching a strong investigation into lynching and its conquests in the South, Wells found herself to become exiled from there forever.
“The true worth of a race must be measured by the character of its womanhood.” One of the many quotes from Mary McLeod Bethune, an African-American woman who carried many titles in her lifetime: educator, politician, civil rights activist, etc., but whose main goal remained the same, empowering her community. Her boldness coupled with her fierce determination allowed her to push through the barriers caging women in, at that time, educating them on their voting rights and establishing a council dedicated to empowering negro women. However, if granted the opportunity to converse with her, my questions would not focus on her accomplishments; instead, I would ask what prompted her to stray from the norm of African-Americans at the time and fight
Jane Addams, Whitney M.Young, Jr., and Ida B Wells were all great social reformers of the nineteenth and twentieth century. They were passionate about the lives of others which drew them to a calling that not only effected their generation but generations after till this day. The impact they left were building blocks that impacted the welfare of society for and shaped the diversity of American civilization for harmony. Though they came from various backgrounds they all had a commonality which was social justice and the courage to lead and make ways for others who have been oppressed and marginalized.
Ida B Wells was one of the great African American women who helped advance the feminist and African-American agenda. Ida B Wells was born a slave in 1862. Despite this, she was still able to get an education at Shaw University at the age of 16. Unfortunately, her parents and a sibling died of the Yellow Fever Outbreak and she was forced to drop out of school. However, she was able to receive a job at a school and taught there until she moved to Memphis, Tennessee. Due to racism, Wells was forcibly removed from a train car when she refused to move to the car for African Americans. She bit one of the men on the hand. After this incident, Wells was inspired to write and became a journalist. She then became and Anti-lynching protestor and lead a march in Washington, D.C. During this time, she becomes a founding member of the NAACP. During her life, she spoke great speeches and wrote inspiring writings.
Ida. B. Wells was born a slave in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1862. Her father was an exceptional carpenter who served as a member of the first board of trustees of Rust College (Pinar, 2006). Rust College accepted students at all levels and grades, which included the basic elementary subjects. Wells attended Rust College where she relished the leadership and teachings
Ida B. Wells was the most influential African American woman of her time, who set the path for many women like Rosa Parks, Shirley Chisholm, and many others, who can walk with their heads held high and no more looking back. She achieved so much while she was here on earth. Wells’ was born in during slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She grew up with both parents (her mother’s name was Lizzie Bell, who was sold by a number of owners and her father’s name was James Wells, who had one master, who was also his father and whose last name he took his own) living in the home and she had seven siblings. It was important two both of her parents that their children would receive the best education, her father served on the first board of trustees of Rust College, a founder of the school, and it was ran by Northern missionaries. Once she reached her teenage years her parents and youngest sibling were stroke with an incurable disease and died from it. She decided to keep her family together by accepting a teacher position. Ida managed to continue her education at a nearby college named Rust College and once completed her moved to Memphis, Tennessee, to help with raising her younger siblings. In Tennessee, Ida started to fight for racial and gender justice; the cause for her willing to a take stand on these issues was an incident that happened to her aboard a train leading to her sue the railroad company for violating the 1875 Civil Right Act. Wells’ was an anti-lynching crusader
Wells, a notable journalist and activist of the early 20th century. The epitome of an activist. Battling, sexism, racism, and violence by using her voice. Ida never backed down when it came to making sure she was treated fairly. Starting with her lawsuit against a train car company for unfair treatment in 1884.
“From 1882-1968, 4,743 lynchings happened in the United States. Of these individuals that were lynched, 3,446 were dark colored. The blacks lynched represented 72.7% of the general population lynched”(“Ida B. Wells Quotes”). Ida Bell Wells Barnett, commonly known as Ida B. Wells was a women who wanted the best for her colleagues. Like most people, she was faced with a big complication. Wells Barnett was a critical part of America's history. Her story is one that must be known and brought to life by African Americans of all ages, today and in the future. In the 1890s Wells led an “anti-lynching crusade in the United States and went deeper in life to become someone who looked and strived for African American justice. Wells was a former slave who became a journalist and wrote about the unpleasant, severe race issues going on in the world which later resulted in death. Ida Bell Wells Barnett, an early leader in the civil rights movement, significantly impacted the lives of African Americans today by
Lynching is a mob action where a person is killed by a mob through beating, torture, shooting or hanging. Lynching was common in the US from 1880’s to 1960’s, with a peak in 1920’s. The most lynched people were African-American men though other people were lynched in other occasions. The main reason for lynching was the perceived breaking of social norms. Whites lynched black men to enforce white supremacy. At this time, there was a popular belief that black people were inferior. Whites would kill black people and take away their property since they believed that black people did not deserve a high social status in the society. Most of lynching incidents happened in the Southern States. Only a few happened
Wells was born on July 16, 1862 in Holly Springs, MS. In 1901, she published a book called, "Lynching and the Excuse for It”. She wrote that the main goal of lynching was to intimidate blacks and prevent them from becoming involved in politics so that whites could maintain power in the South, so she showed them what she was made of and urged African Americans to protest by refusing to ride streetcars or to shop in white owned stores. She also refused to march at the back of a white delegation of women at a suffrage demonstration, she was all about women rights as well as african american rights. She wrote articles to local newspapers until she began her own newspaper called the Free Speech where she wrote about racial segregation and discrimination.
Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was a newspaper editor and journalist who went on to lead the American anti-lynching crusade. Working closely with both African-American community leaders and American suffragists, Wells worked to raise gender issues within the "Race Question" and race issues within the "Woman Question." Wells was born the daughter of slaves in Holly Springs, Mississippi, on July 16, 1862. During Reconstruction, she was educated at a Missouri Freedman's School, Rust University, and began teaching school at the age of fourteen. In 1884, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she continued to teach while attending Fisk University during summer sessions. In Tennessee, especially, she was appalled at
Wells was on of the founding members of the NAACP. In 1930, Wells was disgusted by the nominees for the state legislature, so she decided to run for Illinois State Legislature. This made her one of the first black women to run for public office in the U.S. The Harlem Renaissance exalted the unique culture of African-Americans and redefined African-American expression. She was a person who never stopped believing in what she thought or knew was important to her and other people of her race and gender. She had to have a large amount of courage to do all that she has accomplished in her time, and this is why she is an important figure to the Harlem Renaissance.
Ida B. Wells was a woman dedicated to a cause, a cause to prevent hundreds of thousands of people from being murdered by lynching. Lynching is defined as to take the law into its own hands and kill someone in punishment for a crime or a presumed crime. Ida B. Wells’ back round made her a logical spokesperson against lynching. She drew on many experiences throughout her life to aid in her crusade. Her position as a black woman, however, affected her credibility both in and out of America in a few different ways.