Ida b. Wells may be one of the most important and influential women of our time. She was a strong, powerful figure during the Civil Rights Movement. In this essay I will introduce you to her early life, major accomplishments, and how she has affected me today.
Ida B. Wells was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1862, just six months before the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. She was the oldest of eight children. She and her family were enslaved prior to the Civil War. She went to Shaw College, now Rust College, but had to leave to take care of her siblings after her parent’s death during the 1878 yellow fever epidemic. She became a schoolteacher to support her family. Between teaching and taking care of her brothers and sisters, she went to summer courses at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. She died on March 25, 1931.
She was a very active desegregation leader. One of the things she is most well known for is her court case after she was nearly forced to move on a train. This was the first case after the Jim Crowe laws became legal. She lost, but only because the government wanted to stop other African Americans from following her example. She also was a part owner and reporter for Free Speech, a local newspaper in Memphis, Tennessee before she was run out of town for reporting on the lynching of three black men. She was a key founder of the National Association of Colored Women. She led a march to President McKinley to protest the lynching of a black postmaster, helped found the NAACP, organized club movements for black women, and promoted political activism for African Americans. She worked with the Negro Fellowship League, the Alpha Suffrage Club, the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African Community League in response to Marcus Garvey’s ‘Back to Africa’ movement. She wrote her autobiography called ‘Crusade for Justice’.
She is memorialized in Tennessee’s Hall of Fame for Heroes, as she should be. She played such a large role in such an important time. Without her, thousands of African Americans could have been without hope. She stood for something bigger than herself. She stood for every African American woman who ever knew slavery and oppression. Despite everything she had been through, she stood firm in her beliefs. She never let anyone stop her or change her mind. I admire her for that. I want to help others as she has and make a difference in this world.
As you can see, Ida B. Wells was an astounding person. Despite her trials during the beginning of her life, she persevered to fight for what she thought was right and influenced many people, even today.
