Abstract
This paper explores the life of Ida B. Wells (date of birth to death), an African American woman who is considered a crusader against the lynching of black people. A journalist, researcher and activist, Wells was born into slavery, and despite having to take over the care of her siblings, attended college, became a teacher and eventually a leader in the anti-lynching movement.
One of the founding crusaders for African American rights, as a civil rights activist and journalist, Wells is responsible for giving voice to blacks, bringing attention to the anti-lynching movement, and paving the way for future civil rights initiatives.
Ida B. Wells: Anti-Lynching Activist
Born into slavery, Ida B Wells emerged as a leader in the crusade against the lynching of African Americans. The period after the Civil War, as blacks began to be released from slavery, was a time when lynching crimes increased as white mobs used it for racially and politically motivated control over blacks. Ida B. Wells is remembered as one of the first voices to speak out about lynching. She believed that the if the public was aware of how terrible lynching was it would ultimately lead to the end of this action. One of the founding crusaders for African American rights, as a civil rights activist and journalist, Wells is responsible for giving voice to blacks, bringing attention to the anti-lynching movement, and paving the way for future civil rights initiatives.
Wells journey as an advocate began in 1886 when Wells considered writing a novel about a real incident. The story would focus on an incident where a black girl fought with a white girl and the black girl was convicted of assault. When the two women passed on a wooded path, the white girl accused the black girl of not getting out her way. The white’s girls brother also got involved and abused the black girl. Ultimately the back girl was convicted of assault and sentenced to a year in the workhouse. This incident was deeply troubling to Wells, who noted that the black girl’s attempt to stand up for herself led to her conviction.
“If self possession and self defense had criminal consequences writing a “novel” about it seemed to invite disregard, misunderstanding and even punishment…The issues of racial violence, bias in the legal system and the dilemmas of resistance for black women would be central to her work against lynching for the next four decades.” Townes, Emily M. “Ida B Wells-Barnett: an Afro-American Prophet.” ATLAS Serials, 15 Mar. 1989.
Who was ida B Wells
Born in Hollysprings, Mississippi before the Civil War ended in 1862 to enslaved parents. Her father was a carpenter and her mother a cook. Her father was the son of the master of the plantation and one of his slave women Peggy. His father had no children by his wife. Because he was the son of the plantation master he was treated more favorably and did not experience many of the hardships of other slaves. Her mother was sold away from her family, whom she lost track over and never reconnected.
“I do not remember when or where I started school. My earliest recollections are of reading the newspaper to my father and an admiring group of his friends.”
After the War ended her family was freed and she was able to go to school. “The Freedmen’s Aid had established in 1866 one of its schools in our town. It was called Shaw University, but is now Rust College.” Wells was expelled from the college after getting into a disagreement with the university president.
After college Wells took over the care of her younger siblings after her parents died from yellow fever, In order to care for her family she moved to Memphis and was hired as a teacher. She began to attend a large A.M.E. church and for the first time heard a black preacher addressing a large crowd. “I wondered why the preachers did not give the people practical talks. I had already found out in the country that the people needed guidance in everyday life and that the leaders, the preachers, were not giving them this help.” (pg 22)
As a new teacher, Wells started attending a group of other blacks who wrote and discussed ideas. When the editor position for the Evening Star became available, she was chosen to take on the role of editor. Her goal was to provide simple, practical information to help people with their daily lives. This began a lifetime of writing to inspire others to a better life.
Wells-Barnett, I. B., & Duster, A. (1972). Crusade for justice: The autobiography of Ida B. Wells. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Wells filed a lawsuit in 1884 against a train car company for unfair treatment after she purchased a ticket for a first class car, but was thrown off the car. She sued the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company won her case but it was then overturned in federal court. This was one of her first steps into a life of activism.
In 1892 three of her friends were lynched because their business, a local grocery store, was successful and angered white business owners nearby. The three men, Calvin McDowell, Henry Stewart and Thomas Moss, were confronted by a group of white men, a fight broke out and some men were injured. This led to the arrest of the three men and later a white mob broke into the jail, captured the men and lynched them. This was the event that ignited Wells in her advocacy against lynching. Her pamphlet, Southern Horrors, detailed the event and her investigation of the lynchings occurring throughout the South.
Wells began to investigate lynchings and published a pamphlet about what she had learned. She purchased a share in a newspaper in Memphis, the Free Speech and Headlight, in order to continue publishing her writings. Her writing gained attention and eventually forced her to flee and move to Chicago after her newspapers office was destroyed.
The Lynch Law
Often white mobs used the idea of the “r**e myth” to justify the lynching of an African American. Wells found through her research that lynch victims were often punished for either succeeded in business against white business owners or for challenging the authority of white people.
(Berg: Popular Justice: a history of lynching in America)
Because the Civil War was such a violent time in the history of the United States, with more than 600,000 Americans dying in combat, often the lynchings that were occuring get far too little attention. But, the Civil War and the period of Reconstruction after the War is an important time in the history of lynching. Before this time, lynching had primarily been about punishment for heinous crimes, but now lynching began to be associated with mob violence and a tool of political terror. Lynching became a racially and politically motivated way for the mob to kill blacks.
“African Americans who fell into the hands of rioters receive especially cruel treatment. The black shoemaker who shot an assailant in self defense was first savagely beaten and then hanged. Later his murders dragged his bodies through the streets and burned it in public.” (pg 71-72)
Married Ferdinand Barnett in 1895; had four children
Some of the accomplishments of Wells
Organized Illinois first black women’s club in 1893 – held in Chicago at the end of the World’s Columbian Exposition
An early project was to raise money to prosecute a police officer who killed an innocent black man.
Club established the first black orchestra, opened first black kindergarten and helped cross the color line in clubs
In 1908 there was a race riot in Springfield, Illinois. Wells was responsible for organizing the men of her Bible class at her church into what became the Negro Fellowship League. This group existed until 1920. A reading room and social center for men and boys was one of the first projects of the League.
In 1919 Wells organized an effort to stop the reinstatement of Sheriff Frank Davis. Davis, Sheriff of Alexander County, Illinois did nothing to prevent the lynching of a young black man. She took responsibility for looking into the case and discovering the facts and ultimately presented them to the Governor Charles Deneen. Her efforts led Deneen to refuse to reinstate Davis. There was significant political pressure on Deneen to do so, but he refused. This was a major accomplishment for Wells.
Townes, Emily M. “Ida B Wells-Barnett: an Afro-American Prophet.” ATLAS Serials, 15 Mar. 1989.
Was one of the founders of the National Association for the advancement of colored people NAACP but was not initially recognized for her part in forming the organization and eventually she pulled back from her involvement.
1910 founded the Negro Fellowship League which helped migrants who were traveling to settle away from the South. Founded the first black women’s suffrage group in 1913
What does she do next (missing this info)
Prophet Voice: challenging norms
The 1892 lynching of a close friend,Thomas Wells, who was an international leader in the anti-lynching crusade, motivated Wells to begin to speak out about lynching. Her research, public speeches and writing were some of the first thoughts against the lynching law. She alienated white women who were fighting for civil rights because of her outspoken writing and speeches. “Wells was a powerful leader who’s equivocating stances sometimes impeded her ability to join forces with others. Her prophetic voice is one that still challenges us today” (Townes)
Wells is considered a prophetic voice in the anti-lynching movement.
A prophetic voice speaks out against injustice and inequality and against economic and political power that contradicts equality for all people. Often, leaders who are considered prophets are not widely accepted in their time, and tend to go against the norms of what is being spoken. According to Emily M. Townes in her book Ida B Wells-Barnett: an Afro-American Prophet, Wells’ voice in the anti-lynching movement served as a prophetic voice in three specific ways.
“The ability to discern the will of God to see how God is on the side of oppressed people. …In discerning the will of God, the prophetic voice also exposes the oppressive nature of society. A third feature of the prophetic voice is that it is an agent of admonition. Wells forcefully warned about the consequences of continued disharmony.” (Townes)
Townes, Emily M. “Ida B Wells-Barnett: an Afro-American Prophet.” ATLAS Serials, 15 Mar. 1989.
Schechter, P. A. (2001). Ida B. Wells-Barnett and American reform, 1880-1930.
Wells worked until her death on her book Crusade for Justice, but did not finish it. Her daughter published an autobiography of her life in 1970 highlighting the writings of Wells. The book, Crusade for Justice: An Autobiography of Ida B Wells “tells the story of how Wells came to her anti-lynching calling carried out that calling as best she could and maintained the work in the face of increasing political isolation.”
Wells-Barnett, I. B., Wells-Barnett, I. B., Wells-Barnett, I. B., & Wells-Barnett, I. B. (2014). On lynchings.
Talk more about her book here
Ida B Wells: A American Reformer – good source
Need to cover: social, political and personal context
Importance of her contribution
Traveled around the world to shed light on lynching
Confronted white women in the suffrage movement who ignored the issue of lynching
She was not accepted into the much of the white suffrage movement