Women in Literature and Music

Ida B. Wells

Born July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi, USA. She was the eldest daughter of James and Lizzie Wells. All enslaved people of the Confederate states including the entire Wells family were declared free by the Union after the passing of the Emancipation Proclamation, about 6 months after Ida was born. Despite this, the family still faced prejudice and was restricted by social rules and processes. Both of her parents were active members of the Republican Party during the Reconstruction. Her father, James, had ties to the Freedman's Aid Society and helped found Shaw University (now Rust University), for newly freed-people; he also served on the first board of trustees. It was here that Ida received her early education, however her schooling came to an abrupt halt when she was 16, when tragedy struck the family: both of Ida's parents and one of her siblings died during a yellow fever outbreak; leaving Ida to care for her surviving siblings. Ever adaptable, Ida convinced a local school principal she was 18 and got a job as teacher. In 1882, she moved to Memphis, Tennessee with her sisters, to live with an aunt. Her brothers found work as carpenters apprentices. For awhile after, Ida took up her education again, studying at Fisk University.

Ida wrote voraciously about racism & politics in the American South. Many of her pieces were published in black-owned newspapers & magazines, under the pseudonym, Iola. Ida later gained ownership of 2 newspapers, Memphis Free Speech & Free Speech. On a train ride from Memphis to Nashville, in May 1884, Ida took her activism to a whole new level. After purchasing a first-class ticket, she was deeply offended when the train crew tried to force her to move down to the car for African-Americans. Ida refused on the grounds of moral principle. She was forcibly removed from the train, biting one of the men on the hand. Ida sued the railroad and won a $500 settlement. The ruling was later overruled, which further enraged Ida, inspiring her to put pen to paper. While she worked as a journalist & publisher, Ida was also employed as a teacher at a segregated public school, in Memphis. This also motivated her to vocalize her dismay over the conditions of black-only schools in the city, which led to her being fired in 1891.

A lynching in Memphis motivated Ida to launch a anti-lynching campaign, in 1892. Three African-American men, Tom Moss, Calvin McDowell & Will Stewart opened a grocery store. Their new business began drawing customers away from a white-owned store in the neighbourhood & the owner & their supporters clashed a number of times with the three men. One night, Moss, McDowell & Stewart armed themselves to guard the store against another attack. When a group of white ruffians stormed the store & several were shot. Moss, McDowell & Stewart were promptly arrested & imprisoned, but they were wrenched from their cells & lynched by a mob, before ever being able to speak in their own defense. Ida wrote newspaper articles about the men's wrongful deaths as well as that of other African-Americans; even travelling around the south for 2 months to quantify information about other lynchings, at great risk to her own life. After the publication of one particular article, a crowd of angry white people stormed her newspaper's office & destroyed much of her equipment. Thankfully, Ida had been travelling in New York at the time; but as she received death threats if she ever returned to Memphis, she made the decision to stay up north. While living there, Ida published a detailed report of lynching in America for the New York Age, an African-American newspaper owned & operated by freed black men.

In 1893, Ida published, A Red Record; a personal investigation into lynchings in America. The same year, Ida was giving lectures to help garner support for her cause with sympathetic white people; this work was backed by the renowned abolitionist, Frederick Douglass & lawyer/editor, Ferdinand Barnett. In 1898, Ida brought her anti-lynching campaign to the White House, heading a protest to petition President William McKinley to pass laws to protect African-Americans.

Ida married Ferdinand Barnett, the same lawyer/editor that had backed her anti-lynching efforts, in 1895 & together they had 4 children.

After the brutal race riots in Springfield, Illinois in August 1908, Ida was determined to seek justice for the victims. The next year, she attended a special conference for the organization which later became known as the NAACP, but later left due to the fact that she felt that the organization lacked initiative to take action. She worked passionately on behalf of all women, also petitioning President Woodrow Wilson to put an end to discriminatory hiring practices in government. Ida also started the first African-American kindergarten in her community. In 1930, she ran in an unsuccessful campaign for Illinois state senate.

Ida B. Wells died of kidney failure on March 25, 1931, aged 68, in Chicago, Illinois. She left behind an impressive legacy of advocacy through her many writings, speeches & campaigns. Never afraid to stand up for what was right, regardless of the danger that put her in. Ida also helped found several civil rights organizations. In 1896, she formed the National Association of Colored Women, she is also considered a founding member of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), her co-founders included, Mary Church Terrell, W.E.B DuBois & Archibald Grimke.

https://www.biography.com/activist/ida-b-wells