Ida B. Wells

Ida B. Wells was a pioneering African American journalist, educator, and civil rights activist who played a crucial role in the early struggle against racism and injustice in the United States. Born into slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi, just months before the Emancipation Proclamation was enacted, Wells grew up during Reconstruction and witnessed both the promises and the brutal setbacks of Black freedom in the post-Civil War South.

After losing both of her parents to a yellow fever epidemic at the age of 16, Wells took responsibility for raising her younger siblings and became a teacher to support her family. She later moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where her passion for justice led her to journalism. As a writer and editor, she used the power of the press to confront racism, particularly the widespread practice of lynching.

In 1892, following the lynching of three of her friends, Wells launched an anti-lynching crusade, publishing powerful editorials and investigative reports that exposed the brutality and false narratives surrounding these acts of racial terror. Her fearless work made her a target—her newspaper office was destroyed by a mob—but she refused to be silenced, continuing her advocacy in the North and abroad.

Wells was also deeply involved in the women’s suffrage movement, though she often called out racism within the movement itself. She co-founded several civil rights organizations, including the National Association of Colored Women and was a founding member of the NAACP, although she later distanced herself due to internal disagreements.

Throughout her life, Ida B. Wells remained unapologetically outspoken and committed to justice. She combined rigorous journalism with passionate activism, paving the way for future generations of civil rights leaders. In 2020, nearly 90 years after her death, she was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her outstanding and courageous reporting on the violence against African Americans.