Yours for Justice, Ida B. Wells: The Daring Life of a Crusading Journalist
Historian Dray introduces this civil rights crusader and journalist who campaigned tirelessly to end the practice of lynching. Born into slavery in Mississippi, Wells became a teacher at the age of 16 in order to support her orphaned siblings. Later, she began writing and speaking out against Jim Crow laws. Dray focuses on Wells’ childhood and early life, ending with the lynching of her friend Tom Moss and her subsequent move to New York City in 1892. Alcorn’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations have a fluid quality, conveying both action within the story and movement from one scene to the next. The use of warm colors and fanciful elements helps to mute the harsh realities of lynching and segregation while still maintaining a respectful tone. Appended with notes on Wells’ later life, a time line, and a bibliography, this makes a good choice for middle-grade readers studying the early period of the civil rights movement. For slightly older readers, suggest Anne Schraff’s Ida B. Wells-Barnett (2008). Grades 2-4. --Kay Weisman