Wells off a train for refusing to give up her seat. Wells was an african american journalist, abolitionist and feminist who led an antilynching crusade in the united states in the 1890s. The book follows ida from from a difficult upbringing in mississippi, where she was born into slavery and lost her parents at a young age, to her rise as a widely read and highly influential journalist and speaker. Her father, a skilled carpenter, and mother, a housekeeper, were struck down by yellow fever when ida was 16. Wells in the postbellum american south, lynching was a frightfully common occurrence, perpetrated so frequently that most southern politicians and leaders turned a blind eye to the practice. Wells barnetts most popular book is southern horrors and other writings. Eliza woods was taken from the county jail and stripped naked. Jun 10, 2019 heralded as a landmark achievement upon publication, ida.
Wells, was an antilynching activist, a muckraking journalist, a lecturer, and a militant activist for racial justice. Wells, an african american journalist and civil rights activist from memphis, to travel to england to cultivate british moral indignation against american lynching. This is because bystanders are aware of this widespread problem yet do nothing. Mother of the civil rights movement dennis brindell fradin and judith bloom fradin hougton mifflin company, 2000 178 pages. Her father, a skilled carpenter, and mother, a housekeeper, were. Ida bell wellsbarnett july 16, 1862 march 25, 1931 was an american investigative. The editorial was about lynching, a form of terrorism with which wells was painfully familiar. Wells barnett has 88 books on goodreads with 852 ratings. Ida bell wells barnett july 16, 1862 march 25, 1931 was an africanamerican journalist, newspaper editor, suffragist, sociologist and, with her husband, newspaper owner ferdinand l. Wells in the postbellum american south, lynching was a frightfully common occurrence, perpetrated so frequently that most southern politicians and. Heralded as a landmark achievement upon publication, ida. Wells took it upon herself to document this shameful practice and its prevalence throughout the region and, to a lesser extent, the entire country in a series of seminal volumes, including southern. Wells barnetts writings and her activism were cited throughout, and i wanted to get a more indepth look at her work.
Woman journalist crusades against lynching educational. Wellsbarnett, known for much of her public career as ida b. Wells and the campaign against lynching isbn 9780060519216, 0060519215 description xii, 800 p. See more ideas about ida b wells, african american history and black history. Wells was a journalist, lecturer, civil rights leader, and the leading activist against lynching during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. A skilled writer and speaker, she traveled the united states and europe lecturing on womens and civil rights, and wrote an influential antilynching pamphlet called southern. Wells barnett was an africanamerican woman of striking courage and conviction. Ida bell wells was born to slave parents in 1862 in holly springs, miss.
Wells emancipated blacks, after the civil war, continued to live in fear of lynching, a practice of vigilantism that was often based on false accusations. Wells took on lynching, threats forced her to leave. Wellsbarnett helen frost chelsea house publishers, 2004 32 pages. Wells was the first of eight children born to jim and elizabeth wells in mississippi in 1862, six months before chattel slavery was ended with the emancipation proclamation. Barnett, an early leader in the civil rights movement. Wells took it upon herself to document this shameful practice and its prevalence throughout the region and, to a lesser extent, the entire country in a series of seminal volumes, including. What becomes immediately clear, and the reason i think it. Written during the height of the lynching craze at the turn of the century, they elegantly. Discovering historys heroes is a kidfriendly biography of one of the early pioneers of civil rights activism. She writes in her autobiography that there was a generation who didnt know who she was and didnt know about lynching. She achieved nationwide attention as leader of the anti lynching crusade. A shocking and powerful account of lynching written by activist, journalist, and former slave ida b. Tabulated statistics and alleged causes of lynching in the united states by ida b.
Notes includes bibliographical references and index. So began the civil rights pioneers crusade against lynching. Wells, was an african american writer and activist famous for her work campaigning against lynching in the south. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 4 to 6. Wells arguably became the most famous black woman in america, during a life that was centered on combating prejudice and violence, who.
Wells negro american biographies and autobiographies, and on lynchings classics in black studies, and more on. Wells was an african american journalist and activist who led an anti lynching crusade in the united states in the 1890s. In that awful year, the twentythreeyearold ida b wells, the editor of a small newspaper for blacks in memphis, tennessee, raised one lone voice of protest. Author paula giddings talks about the book and wells.
In the 1890s, wells documented lynching in the united states through her. Wellss lifelong commitment to protecting black lives and exposing lynching as a tool of white supremacy. How the legendary black newspaper changed america because ida b. Wellsbarnetts writings and her activism were cited throughout, and i wanted to get a more indepth look at her work. This compilation features southern horrors, wells s first pamphlet on the subject of lynching, as well as its successors, a red record and mob rule in new orleans. Wells, diaries, copies of articles and speeches by wells, articles and accounts about wells, newspapers clippings, and photographs. She went on to found and become integral in groups. Wells was hard at work to better the lives of african americans. Ida, a sword among lions npr coverage of ida, a sword among lions. Wells went to heroic lengths in the late 1890s to document the horrifying practice of lynching blacks. Wellsbarnett raised a lone voice of protest and was forced to flee for her life.
Oxford university press on demand format available. Wells details in gory detail and hard data the horrors of american lynching in a speech she made to a chicago audience on the subject in january 1900. The epidemic of lynching that gripped the american south in the decades after the civil war and the end of slavery has been glossed over and understated in many history books. Tabulated statistics and alleged causes of lynching in the united states, 1895.
This compilation features southern horrors, wellss first pamphlet on the subject of lynching, as well as its successors, a red record and mob rule in new orleans. Wellsbarnetts moving antilynching essays are presented in this volume. This pamphlet was first published in 1895 but was subsequently reprinted. She achieved nationwide attention as leader of the antilynching crusade. Began a crusade against lynchingpublished editorialssuffered property damage and received personal threatswrote the red record, a book containing case studies and statistics. Wells barnett museum in her honor that acts as a cultural center of africanamerican history. Long before boycotts, sitins, and freedom rides, ida b. In her hometown of holly springs, mississippi, there is an ida b. Jun 10, 2019 ida bell wellsbarnett, better known as ida b.
Click download or read online button to get ida b wells tells about lynchings book now. Wells was already out of town when she realized that an editorial shed written had caused a riot. During the 1880s and 1890s, more than 100 african americans per year were lynched, and in 1892 alone the toll of murdered men and women reached a peak of 161. On lynchings dover books on africanamericans ida b. She was one of the founders of the national association for the advancement of colored people naacp. Wells barnett, the fiery journalist, lecturer and civil rights militant, is best known for her tireless crusade against lynching and her fearless efforts to expose violence against blacks. In 1892, wells had left memphis to attend a conference in philadelphia, when. After three of her acquaintances were lynched for standing up to an attack on their store, wells barnett became very active in her anti lynching campaign. May 18, 2008 ida bell wells was born to slave parents in 1862 in holly springs, miss. Wells, 18621931 teacher, journalist and antilynching activist. Ida bell wells barnett july 16, 1862 march 25, 1931 was an american investigative journalist, educator, and an early leader in the civil rights movement. Wellsbarnett was an africanamerican woman of striking courage and conviction.
The lynching of these men, well respected in the african american community of memphis, outraged wells. Wells moved to chicago at the age of 32, she was already a worldrenowned anti lynching crusader, civil rights activist and investigative journalist. Wells 18621931 was born a slave in holly springs, mississippi. A sword among lions is a sweeping narrative about a country and a crusader embroiled in the struggle against lynchinga practice that imperiled not only the lives of black men and women, but also a nation based on law and riven by race.
The broadest and most comprehensive collection of writings available by an early civil and womens rights pioneer seventyone years before rosa parkss courageous act of resistance, police dragged a young black journalist named ida b. Apr 01, 2002 during the 1880s and 1890s, more than 100 african americans per year were lynched, and in 1892 alone the toll of murdered men and women reached a peak of 161. Wellsbarnetts achievements were the publication of a detailed book about lynching entitled a red record 1895, the cofounding of the national association for the advancement of colored people naacp, and the founding of what may have been the first black womens suffrage group. Wells protested the lynching in an editorial for the gate city press, a black newspaper in kansas city, mo. A sword among lions is a sweeping narrative about a country and a crusader embroiled in the struggle.
Wells was an african american journalist, abolitionist and feminist who led an anti lynching crusade in the united states in the 1890s. Her groundbreaking work, which included collecting statistics in a practice that today is called data journalism, established that the lawless killing of blacks was a systematic practice, especially in the south in the era following. Wells published a column on may 21, 1892, denouncing the old thread bare lie that lynching was used to protect white womanhood, a white mob marched to her office in. Though the end of the civil war brought legal emancipation to blacks. Wells 18621931 is now a chicago icon and a shining example of fearless grit and truthtelling.
Black woman reformer and millions of other books are available for amazon. Wells s book the red record exposed the horrors of lynching in america jacob riiss how the other half lives shocked the american public with its use of. After three of her acquaintances were lynched for standing up to an attack on their store, wellsbarnett became very active in her antilynching. Wells museum have also been established to protect, preserve and promote wells legacy.
A sword among lions is a sweeping narrative about a country and a crusader embroiled in the. Edition 1st ed language english variant title sword among lions ida b. Wells the author argues that not to protest lynching or try to stop it amounts to a crime, or what the law calls an accessory before and after the fact. Paper contain correspondence, manuscript of crusade for justice. Oct 28, 2008 this picture book biography introduces the extraordinary ida b. As perhaps the first investigative journalist, she crusaded against lynching and for womens suffrage. Hardly had the sentences dried upon the statutebooks before one southern state after another. Ida b wells tells about lynchings download ebook pdf, epub. Ida b wells tells about lynchings download ebook pdf. Her groundbreaking work, which included collecting statistics in a practice that today is called data journalism, established that the lawless killing of blacks was a systematic practice, especially in the south in the era following reconstruction. Catapulted emotionally into the cause after three of her friends were lynched in tennessee, and after the destruction of her presses, wellsbarnett never stopped fighting for justice. To be clear, this is not a book that explicitly takes up capitalism in the way other texts do on items. Wells moved to chicago at the age of 32, she was already a worldrenowned antilynching crusader, civil rights activist and investigative journalist. At the conclusion of the three volumes, the reader will find an array of photographs depicting lynching victims.
Lynching was not only a way for southern white men to exert racist justice, it was also a means of keeping women, white and black, under the control of a. Emboldened, wells furiously fought against those who participated in, or ignored, violence. Born into slavery, she lost both parents at the age of sixteen and supported five siblings by teaching school. Wells honored by new lynching museum for fighting racial. Born to slaves in mississippi, wells began her activist career by refusing to leave a firstclass ladies car on a memphis railway and rose to lead the nations first campaign against lynching. Lynching refers to an instance when a person or group of people acting outside the law physically punishes another person, often resulting in death. Wells and the campaign against lynching by paula j. Wells barnett raised a lone voice of protest and was forced to flee for her life. She grew up to be a journalist who fought to expose the injustice of lynching through her writing, lecturing, and political activism.