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Emily Williams

World Civilization since 1660

Professor Surpratman

14 April 2021

World History Project: Ida B. Wells-Barnett

When thinking about important people in history, what comes to mind? When it comes to

significant figures throughout history, most people think of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa

Parks, or even George Washington Carver. Who comes to my mind is Ida B. Wells-Barnett. Ida

B. Wells-Barnett played a significant role in African American history and women's history

while being an activist on the lynchings of African Americans.

On July 16, 1862, Ida B. Wells-Barnett was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi.

At only sixteen years old, Ida B. Wells-Barnett ended up as the guardian of her six younger

siblings after her parents' death from yellow fever (source 2). When she was sixteen, Ida began

her studies at Shaw University (present-day Rust College). After completing her education and

teachings, Wells and her siblings packed their belongings and relocated to Memphis, Tennessee.

In 1884, while traveling aboard a train to Memphis, Ida Wells was asked to move from her seat

and give it to another passenger. Wells refused to give up her car seat and was thrown off the

train and filed a lawsuit against the Memphis train car company. This event was the start of

Wells' journey in activism. This event also occurred approximately seventy years before Rosa

Parks' boycott against the Montgomery Bus Company, which occurred in Alabama in 1955. 

After settling down in Memphis, Tennessee, Ida picked up an interest in journalism. She

worked for various newspaper companies, including The New York Age, The Conservator, The
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Memphis Free Press and Headlight, which Wells co-owned, and Chicago's Daily Inter-Ocean,

among other companies (source 3). While writing for these newspaper companies, Wells helped

expose patterns of violence committed towards the African American community throughout the

United States, especially in the south and specifically in Memphis, Tennessee. These multiple

acts of violence included beatings, stabbings, shootings, and even lynchings. Day after day,

newspaper covers steadily reported the recent crimes and acts of violence towards the African

American community. Once these newspaper headlines gained popularity, Ida became more

interested in writing. She ended up publishing more than a few books, such as the

pamphlet Southern Horrors, The Red Record, On Lynchings, and Mob Rule in New Orleans.

These books and pamphlets covered racism and the amount of violence committed solely

towards the African American community and included pictures and statistics involving these

issues. Writing and publishing books, pamphlets, and newspaper articles covering the violence,

specifically lynchings, towards the African American community led to a spark of activism in

Ida B. Wells. Writing about these issues was not the only thing Ida could do, as she desperately

wanted a change in society's behavior towards African Americans.

Working for these newspaper articles to help expose America's violent acts of racism

towards the African American community came consequences, unfortunately. A couple of the

newspaper companies Ida B. Wells worked for did not agree with how she reported violent

crimes and let her go. Even though this was the best decision for the company, who else would

expose the racist encounters towards African Americans? On one occasion, while working for

the company that Wells also co-owned, The Memphis Free Press and Headlight, a large group of

people disagreed with the editorial, which caused a riot then led to the destruction of the

newspaper office. Because of this, the company let Wells go of her editorial position, forcing
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Wells to leave her home for safety concerns (source 5). And to her dismay, Ida did what not

many Americans wanted to do: confront every individual of their wrongdoings and prove there is

a problem with racism in the United States, especially in the southern states. After reading the

headlines that covered most newspapers across the nation, many people did not want to believe

the headlines even though they were true. America contained a racial issue that was deeply

rooted in the southern states. 

By definition, the act of lynching is to kill someone, especially by hanging. For centuries,

thousands of people died via lynching alone; most of those thousands of people happened to be

of African American descent. According to a source based on statistics, lynchings occurring

between 1882 and 1968 totaled at least three thousand African Americans. The majority of the

three thousand lynchings occurred in the southern states. In most northern and western states,

statistics showed more Caucasians lynched than African Americans; nevertheless, lynching is an

awful crime. After researching about lynchings and other violent crimes committed towards

African Americans, Ida B. Wells-Barnett debunked the truth about some of the lynchings

happening to African Americans, specifically men. The unfortunate truth is various Caucasian

women are falsely accusing young African American men of committing heinous acts towards

them, such as rape, harassment, and even catcalling. Before researching the statistics on lynching

and Ida B. Wells' research, I knew how serious lynchings, among other crimes, were, but I had

no idea that most lynching victims were falsely accused of acts they did not commit. I found this

interesting because I did not realize how often African Americans are murdered after being

falsely accused of an act they did not commit. After recognizing this, I could understand how

deeply saddened Ida B. Wells-Barnett felt. To reveal the harsh truth about an inexplicable act is

one thing, but to do something to bring justice to those who died is another. With all of her
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might, Ida B. Wells-Barnett tried to the best of her ability to bring awareness around the world

that these unjust crimes committed, especially towards minorities and specifically the African

American community, must come to an end. 

I hold very much admiration for Ida B. Wells-Barnett because not only did she try to

make a difference to change how society and people treated African Americans, but with her

efforts, she became a renowned journalist, author, and activist. With Ida B. Wells' contributions

to an activist society, she has become a significant figure throughout history. She also inspired

hundreds of thousands of activists around the world, including Thurgood Marshall, Martin

Luther King Jr., and Rosa Parks. For centuries, African Americans have faced racial injustices

and violence, and Wells' efforts helped expose how unfairly African American citizens are

treated. By publishing newspapers and books, Wells hoped to educate those and reveal the harsh

truth about racism.

I also admire Ida B. Wells-Barnett because she was not only an activist for African

American rights and racial equality, but she became an activist for women's rights and women's

suffrage. On March 3, 1913, along with the help of approximately sixty-four other suffragists,

Ida B. Wells prepared a speech and planned to march and plan a parade in Washington D.C.

(source 7). Wells founded and led a suffragist group called the Alpha Suffragist Club (ASC), the

first black suffragist group. On the same day, she also marched with the National American

Woman's Suffrage Association (NAWSA), a women's suffragist organization led by Alice Paul

(source 7). After establishing the world's first antilynching campaign, Wells relocated to Illinois

from Tennessee, where she met Ferdinand L. Barnett, whom she married afterward. After

marriage, Wells-Barnett had a baby boy, but that did not stop Ida from traveling to give her

speeches about the importance of antilynching. While traveling, Ida claimed, "I honestly believe
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that I am the only woman in the United States...with a nursing baby to make political speeches"

(source 7). It takes a strong person, man or woman, to deliver heart-wrenching political speeches

about violent crimes committed towards African Americans, and Ida B. Wells-Barnett did just

that. Ida B. Wells-Barnett was an active member in numerous organizations, such as the National

American Woman's Suffrage Association (NAWSA), the National Association of Colored

Women (NACW), and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People

(NAACP). 

After researching about Ida B. Wells-Barnett, there are multiple lessons to learn about

her. She was born an enslaved woman and lost her parents at an early age due to a contagious

disease, then had no choice but to raise her younger siblings. At the time of these events, Wells

was young, being between ages sixteen and eighteen. In 1884, Wells refused to give up her train

seat; approximately seventy-one years later, Rosa Parks did the same thing on the Montgomery

bus. Having both women refuse to give up their seats shows how racism is everywhere, but that

does not mean anyone has to succumb to it. Ida B. Wells-Barnett inspired thousands of people

and even more activists to stand up to racism and help spread awareness of unlawful acts. She

also motivated women's rights activists and suffragists. Despite having to face racism across the

United States, Ida B. Wells-Barnett did everything in her power to fight for women's rights,

especially the right to vote (source 10). Not only did Wells face racism, but she faced sexism as

well. Most men did not want women to have equal opportunities, much less a right to vote. Even

though most women’s suffrage movements involved Caucasian women, such as Susan B.

Anthony and Elizabeth Cady Stanton, many African American suffragists went unrecognized

and were not given their credit. In 1913, when Ida B. Wells-Barnett participated in the first
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suffragist parade in Washington D.C., she marched alongside the National American Woman

Suffrage Association (NAWSA) and was the only African American woman in the group. 

A lesson I have learned from Ida B. Wells-Barnett is how far society has developed since

the 1800s. She left an imprint on the history of activists, especially being an African American

woman. 2020 was the 100th anniversary of the nineteenth amendment added to the United States

Constitution (source 11). Along with multiple women and African American activists, Ida B.

Wells helped shape the future of gaining justice for women and African Americans around the

world.