Ida B. Wells has been
described in many different ways as a militant, courageous, determined,
impassioned and aggressive. Wells was
born into slavery; her parents were slaves.
Her pace of birth was Holly Springs, Mississippi in the year 1862. Her mother was a deeply religious woman and
her father was of an intense independent spirit and welcomed full independence
as a result of Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation of 1863.
In the 1830’s, Holly
Springs had an abundance of cotton plantations.
In the post-civil war era its economic base shifted from agriculture and
became the home of an iron foundry and the main office of the Mississippi
Central Railroad. This change was, in
part, a result of the fact that Confederate forces had set the town ablaze
during its occupation by the Union army.
Ida grew up in a house
built by her father; she was the eldest daughter with seven other
siblings. Her father was a skilled
carpenter and was well employed in helping to rebuild the town in the aftermath
of its destruction. He was also a member
of the first board of directors of Rust College – formerly called Shaw
University. Wells’ parents were strong
advocates of education and she attended Rust College during her childhood. She also was an avid reader of the bible.
In 1878, the town of
Holly Springs was struck by an epidemic of Yellow Fever. This created such a panic that 2000 of the
3000 residents fled their. Of those who
stayed behind seventy- five percent succumbed to the disease. As a result, Wells lost both parents and
three of her siblings including the youngest, Stanley, only 10 months old. This was, of course, a substantial blow to
the remaining family and especially Wells, 16 years old and the oldest, for it
fell upon her to take care of her siblings.
Thankfully, her father left behind money and the Masons – of which her
father was a member – served as guardians for the family.
Wells became a teacher
and two of her brothers became carpenters like their father. In 1882, Wells accepted a job as a teacher in
Memphis, Tennessee. In order to fill a
requirement for this new position, she commuted to a school in Woodstock,
Tennessee to obtain her teacher’s certification. In May of the year 1884, a momentous
incidence happened to the young Wells – an event that would make a lasting
impression upon her and helped shape her worldview. She was traveling to Woodstock, Tennessee on
the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, when she was informed that as a “colored”
person she was forced to ride in the smoking car. Believing this was totally unjustified, she
was adamant in her refusal. When
attempts were made to forcefully move her, she left the train, returned to
Memphis and immediately began litigation proceedings against the railroad. Her case received media attention on account
of the fact that Tennessee law clearly stated that accommodations for people of
color must be separate but equal – an example of the prevalence of Jim
Crow. However, the smoking car that she
was commanded to move to was not commensurate with first class passenger
service. On account of the strength of
this legal argument, Wells actually won the case; she was awarded $500 in
damages. It is interesting that this
event is closely analogous to Mahatma Gandhi’s incident on a train in South
Africa during the era of Apartheid. It
was this occurrence that awakened the young Gandhi to the real nature and
pernicious character of racial prejudice and convinced the neophyte lawyer to
instigate reform.
Wells’ victory, however,
was short-lived; for, it was ultimately reversed by the Supreme Court in April
of 1887 - ruling that the smoking car was in fact equivalent to first class
accommodations when provided to people of color. Wells was so upset by this decision that she
wrote, “…I felt so disappointed because I had hoped such great things from my
suit for my people generally. I have
firmly believed all along that the law on our side and would, when we appealed
to it, give us justice. I feel shorn of
that belief and utterly discouraged, and just now, if it were possible, would
gather my race in my arms and fly away with them. O God, is there no redress, no peace, no
justice in this land for us? Thou hast
always fought the battles of the weak and oppressed. Come to my aid at this moment and teach me what
to do, for I am sorely, bitterly disappointed. Show us the way, eve as Thou led
the children of Israel out of bondage into the promised land.”
Life was difficult for
Wells in the post-reconstruction era in the South on account of her race. In spite of the many obstacles she faced,
Wells had developed superb journalistic skills and became a part owner of the Free Speech and Headlight
newspaper. In 1891, she lost her
position as a teacher on account of her outspoken views. She ultimately renamed her publication and
called it simply Free Speech.
In March of 1892 a
horrendous event occurred in the city of Memphis that would shape Wells’
future. Three young Black businessmen
were lynched by a mob in Memphis.
Incensed, Wells utilized her journalistic acumen to both report on the
event and relentlessly attack this kind of extreme violent behavior directed
against Blacks.
She wrote the following
in her publication, Free Speech -
“The city of Memphis has
demonstrated that neither character nor standing avails the Negro if he dares
to protect himself against the white man or become his rival. There is nothing
we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms. The
white mob could help itself to ammunition without pay, but the order is rigidly
enforced against the selling of guns to Negroes. There is therefore only one
thing left to do; save our money and leave a town which will neither protect
our lives and property, nor give us a fair trial in the courts, but takes us
out and murders us in cold blood when accused by white persons.”
This outspokenness
within such a hostile and threatening environment certainly revealed her
courage, strength of character and determination. Her words had immediate impact – many members
of the Black community in Memphis left town and others organized a boycott
against white business owners. As a result, Wells’ newspaper office was
destroyed for it was seen as a threat to white-dominated society. Her life was in such jeopardy that she moved
to Chicago but continued her journalistic campaign against the extrajudicial
practice of lynching of black men that had become quite common.
For this reason, Wells
decided not to return home after attending a convention in Philadelphia. Wells, however, would not let fear silence
her. Instead, she continued her
anti-lynching campaign in which she pointed out the existence of such a
horrific practice in the Northeast as well.
At that time, Wells presented her point of view in the New York Age – an influential black newspaper that was
published between 1887 and 1953.
This reporting also captured
the interest of reporters from abroad.
As a consequence, she was invited to tell her story in England, Scotland
and Wales. While there, Wells was
impressed by the progressive activities of women in the UK. She carried these impressions back with her
to the States and stressed the importance of women’s organized civic
clubs. Notable among these was the
Women’s Era Club of Boston, Massachusetts presided over by President Josephine
St. Pierre Ruffin.
Racial prejudice was so
pervasive at that time that Blacks were prevented from participation in the
World’s Columbian Exhibition held in Chicago celebrating the 400th
anniversary of Christopher Columbus landing in America. Included in the list of
those prohibited from participating were such notable representatives as
Ferdinand L Barnett and Frederick Douglas.
Barnett was an attorney, writer and lecturer; he was instrumental in
founding one of Chicago’s first black newspapers, The Chicago Conservator and would later become Wells’ husband. Douglass was a famed abolitionist who was
born into slavery in Maryland. He became one of the most famous intellectuals
of his time; he was so admired and respected that served as the advisor to presidents.
In spite of this
pernicious environment and her horrific experiences and probably because of
them, Wells lectured throughout the North and organized anti-lynching
committees. As a direct consequence of
her journalistic investigation of lynching, Wells authored a book entitled, The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and
Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States: 1892, 1893, and 1894. In the book entitled, On Lynching: Southern
Horrors, A Red Record and A Mob Rule in New Orleans – a compendium of her most
valued works - she wrote, “The Afro-American is not a bestial race. If this
work can contribute in any way toward proving this, and at the same time arouse
the conscience of the American people to a demand for justice to every citizen,
and punishment by law for the lawless, I shall feel I have done my race a
service. Other considerations are of minor importance.”
In regards to Wells’
personal life, she had a long relationship with Attorney Ferdinand L. Bennett. They were married in 1895 and she gave birth
to two sons – the eldest being born in 1897.
Her children became targets of race violence from the notorious
Thirty-First Street gang in Chicago and for reasons of personal safety for
herself and her children she carried a pistol.
From 1898 to 1902 Wells
served as secretary of the National Afro-American Council and in 1910 she
founded and became the first president of the Negro Fellowship Leagues; its
stated purpose was to aid blacks newly emigrated from the American South. She was militantly opposed to racial
prejudice in all its forms both locally in Chicago and throughout the nation. In Chicago she also was instrumental in
establishing numerous African-American organizations dedicated to reform and
she remained undaunted in the opposition to lynchings that was eloquently
expressed in her writing especially one entitled, Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases. In addition, she became involved the
burgeoning issue of women’s suffrage and participated in the 1913 march for suffrage
in Washington D.C. In this regard, she
joined forces with Jane Addams and managed to help prevent the establishment of
officially-sanctioned segregation in the Chicago school system.
In 1906, she joined
forces with William W.E.B. Dubois and others and in 1909, she was one of the
two women signatories to a document that called for the creation of National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). William Edward Burghardt "W. E. B."
Du Bois (1868 –1963) was an American sociologist and historian. He became renowned as a civil rights activist. He was the first African American to earn a
doctorate. Her outspokenness even
amongst her peers, however, had made her controversial and was subsequently
marginalized from any position of power within the leadership. Wells became thoroughly disheartened by her
diminished role with the leadership of the NAACP. As a result, she decided to enter
politics. In 1930, she ran for office in
the Illinois State Legislature. A year
later, she died.
Ida B. Wells was a woman
who possessed immense moral courage and an unshakable conviction for the cause
of social justice. Her boldness and
unflinching insistence on equality and justice left an indelible mark on history
of civil rights movement in America and was undoubtedly an inspiration for
those who followed.
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