Ida B. Wells

Ida B. Wells was an African American activist and Journalist who led an anti-lynching movement in the U.S. in the 1890s.

## Early Life

Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Ida Bell Wells-Barnett was born into slavery on July 16, 1862. Six months after her birth, slaves were freed from Confederate States due to the Emancipation Proclamation. She was the eldest daughter of James and Lizzie Wells, along side with two younger siblings. Both her parents were active in the Republican Party during the Reconstruction. Her father was also involved with a school that was created for newly freed slaves; this is where Ida began her education. But at age 16, she was forced to drop out of school due to the death of her parents and one of her siblings. She was left responsible for her other siblings and ended up getting a job as a teacher. She eventually moved to Memphis, Tennessee with her aunt and continued to be a teacher there.

## First Encounter for Racial and Gender Justice

1884 was when Wells began her fight for racial and gender justice. Wells was asked to give up her seat on a train to a white male and to sit in the back. As she said in her biography, "I refused... [The conductor] tried to drag me out of the seat, but the moment he caught hold of my arm I fastened my teeth in the back of his hand. I had braced my feet against the seat in the front and was holding to the back, and as he had already been badly bitten he didn't try it again by himself. He went forward and got the baggageman and another man, to help him and of course they succeeded in dragging me out." When she returned back home, Wells immediately hired an attorney to sue the railroad company. She won the case at the local court level with a $500 settlement but the railroad company appealed to the Supreme Court of Tennessee. She lost the case in the Supreme Court but this didn't stop her from battling against racial and gender injustice.

## Activist and Journalist Work

* In 1889, Wells became the co-owner and editor of *The Free Speech and Headlight* newspaper, which is where she spoke out against racial injustice. During this time, three of Ida's friends were lynched based on their economic success. A mob of white residents also destroyed Ida's office. Wells was forced to move out of Memphis, but she continued her fight as an anti-lynching activist, journalist, and lecturer.
* Later years, in 1895, Wells became a leading member of the Chicago black community and worked on another newspaper called *The Conservator.* She was in Chicago at the time because she got married to lawyer and activist Ferdinand Barnett.
* Wells also took her personal experience of lynching in publishing her book called *The Red Record* in 1895. Till this day, this book is one of the most important and honest accounts of lynching that has occurred in U.S. history.
* Wells was heavily involved in not just activism for people of color, but primarily for African American women. She continued her path of civil rights activism in 1896, when she established the National Association of Colored Women.
* She was also a co-founder of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. But Wells later left the organization because she felt that there wasn't a progress being made nor action-based moves occurring.
* In 1930, she ran for Illinois state senator but did not win.

## Death/Legacy

On March 25, 1931, Ida B. Wells died of a Kidney disease at the age of 68. She left behind a legacy that has still lived on today. Her book, *The Red Record,* is considered a text that highlights the history of colored people that experienced lynching in the United States. She didn't succeed when it came to running as a Senator for Illinois but Wells' constant activism and campaigning strongly influenced the community back then and today. She fought against prejudice, even if that meant she would face dangers. Her speeches, writings and protests signifies a long history of fighting against social and racial discrimination which has greatly influenced America today to still fight against these injustices.

## References

* https://www.biography.com/people/ida-b-wells-9527635
* https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ida-B-Wells-Barnett
* http://people.duke.edu/~ldbaker/classes/AAIH/caaih/ibwells/ibwbkgrd.html
* https://dp.la/primary-source-sets/sets/ida-b-wells-and-anti-lynching-activism/
* https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/ida-b-wells-6593.php
* http://healthresearchfunding.org/4-major-accomplishments-of-ida-b-wells/