Ida B. Wells
Also known as Ida Bell Wells-Barnett
American investigative journalist and civil rights leader (1862–1931) who documented lynching.
At a glance
Main ideas
The rape charge as pretext, Lynching as terror, Data paired with accounts …
See all 4Books to start with
Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases, The Red Record, Mob Rule in New Orleans …
See all 4Connections
NAACP, Frederick Douglass and Southern Horrors
See all 3
Also on this page: Key facts · Links · Sources · Related pages
- Wells was an American investigative journalist, sociologist, educator and early civil rights leader, and one of the founders of the NAACP.
- Born into slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi, she was freed as an infant.
- She co-owned and wrote for the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight until a white mob destroyed its office in 1892.
- Through the 1890s she documented lynching in pamphlets such as Southern Horrors and The Red Record.
- She then lived in Chicago, organising for civil rights and women's suffrage.
Why it matters
- Her reporting debunked the claim that lynching victims were guilty of crimes, and in 2020 she was posthumously honoured with a Pulitzer Prize special citation.
Key facts
- Born
- 16 Jul 1862, near Holly Springs, Mississippi, into slavery1
- Died
- 25 Mar 1931, Chicago, of kidney disease1
- Railroad lawsuit
- Won $500 in 1884 after being dragged from a first-class car; reversed by the Tennessee Supreme Court in 18871
- Free Speech and Headlight
- Editor and co-owner, with J. L. Fleming, from 1889; office destroyed by a white mob in 18921
- Pen name
- "Iola", in The Living Way1
- Spouse
- Ferdinand Lee Barnett, attorney, married 27 Jun 1895 in Chicago1
- Pulitzer Prize
- Special citation, awarded posthumously on 4 May 20201
Main ideas
-
The rape charge as pretext1
Accusations of rape hid the real motives for lynching: Black economic progress and enforcing second-class status.
-
Lynching as terror1
Whites used lynching to terrorise African Americans who were economic and political competition.
-
Data paired with accounts1
She built statistics from white newspapers and set them beside graphic accounts of specific lynchings.
-
Self-defence1
Appeals to reason would not end lynching; a "Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home."
Books to start with
The line under a date fills as it gets older: empty when new, full at 2 years.
-
Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases1
Her first pamphlet on lynching.
-
The Red Record1
A 100-page sociological investigation of lynching since 1863, with statistics.
-
Mob Rule in New Orleans1
On Robert Charles, with further lynching statistics.
-
Crusade for Justice1
Her unfinished autobiography, edited by her daughter Alfreda Barnett Duster.
Connections
Related
- NAACPOne of its founders
- Frederick DouglassPersonPraised her work and introduced and sometimes funded her investigations
Writes
Links
Sources
Last checked against its sources today
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