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How did ida b wells get into the fight for civil rights
Who did ida b wells inspire
Who did ida b wells inspire
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Ida B. Wells is many things. A mother, a journalist, a teacher, an anti-lynching crusader, a women’s rights activist, and a civil rights pioneer. But above all, she is a hero. She faced many challenges in her life, including being born into slavery, and being orphaned at the age of sixteen. But even with all that befell her, she still managed to pave the way to a better life for herself and others.
Ida Bell Wells was born into slavery as the oldest of 7 children in Holly Springs, Mississippi on July 16, 1862. Shortly after her birth, Ida and her parents were freed under the Emancipation Proclamation, which was issued on January 1, 1863. Her father was considered a “race man”, who worked for the advancement of Black people, doing things such as campaigning for African-American political candidates, although he never ran for office himself. He also attended Shaw College, although he had to drop out to help support his family. When Ida was sixteen, while visiting a grandmother in Memphis, she received word that a yellow fever epidemic had struck Holly Springs, leaving her parents and ten month old brother dead. Now orphaned, Ida secured a teaching position to support her remaining five siblings.
Ida attended Shaw’s College, but left before she could graduate. Shortly after that, she moved to Memphis and started her crusades for the betterment of life for herself and others. There, she began to write editorials under the pen name Iola condemning violence against blacks, poor schools, disfranchisement, and the failure of black people to utilize the full potential of their rights. In 1892, Tom Moss, a friend of Ida’s and a well-respected black store owner was lynched, along with two of his friends, after trying t...
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...till around today (although they have changed their name, and their goals slightly as well). Ida worked for equality her whole life, almost right up to the day she died. The amount of lives she changed is innumerable, and her work will always be remembered. Ida Bell Wells-Barnett will forever be known as a hero.
Works Cited
"The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow." PBS. PBS, 1 Jan. 2002. Web. 2 May 2014. .
"Southern Horrors: Lynch Law In All Its Phases : Ida B. Wells ." Internet Archive. Librivox, 28 July 2013. Web. 2 May 2014.
Baker, Lee. "Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Her Passion for Justice." Ida B. Wells-Barnett and Her Passion for Justice. Duke Edu, 1 Apr. 2013. Web. 2 May 2014. .
C. Vann Woodward, who died in 1999 at the age of 91, was America's most Southern historian and the winner of a Pulitzer Prize, for Mary Chestnut's Civil War. He’s also a Bancroft Prize for The Origins of the New South. In honor of his long and adventurous career, Oxford is pleased to publish this special commemorative edition of Woodward's most influential work, The Strange Career of Jim Crow. The Strange Career of Jim Crow is one of the great works of Southern history. The book actually helped shape that historical curve of black liberation; it’s not slowed movement; it’s more like a rollercoaster.
Interestingly, the book does not focus solely on the Georgia lynching, but delves into the actual study of the word lynching which was coined by legendary judge Charles B Lynch of Virginia to indicate extra-legal justice meted out to those in the frontier where the rule of law was largely absent. In fact, Wexler continues to analyse how the term lynching began to be used to describe mob violence in the 19th century, when the victim was deemed to have been guilty before being tried by due process in a court of law.
Wexler, Laura. 2003. Fire in a Canebrake: The Last Mass Lynching in America. Scribner; 2004. Print
Ida chose to return to Mississippi for the birth of her daughter “for the express purpose of having the baby in the familiar hands of a midwife”. While she was there, George relocated to Chicago seeking steady employment where he obtained a series of small jobs and was finally able to rent a one room basement apartment for his returning family. George gradually improved jobs and obtained steady employment with the Campbell Soup Company, which ended up being his lifetime occupation. Throughout this period of time, George sought improved housing and a better environment for his growing family. However, they were still obligated to live within the allotted areas for Black families which were extremely overpopulated. Ida Mae was not too proud to accept advice from migrants who were there before her and The Defender's periodic lists of “do's and don’ts” . She was above all not a complainer or a slacker, but would work alongside of her husband determined to help achieve the objectives they courageously set out to accomplish, more opportunities, freedom to practice all aspects of life granted in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, and protection from the Jim Crow laws for all of their
Ida B. Wells was born into slavery, and lived in Holly Springs Mississippi. She was later freed, and learned from her parents what it meant to be a political activist. By 1891, Wells was the owner of the newspaper, Free Speech, and was reporting on the horrors that were occurring in the south. Wells, along with other people of the African American activist community were particularly horrified about the lynching’s that were occurring in the south. As a response to the lynching that was occurring, and other violent acts that the African American community was dealing with Wells wrote three pamphlets: Southern Horrors, The Red Record, and Mob Brutality. Muckraking and investigative journalism can be seen throughout these pamphlets, as well as Wells intent to persuade the African American community, and certain members of the white community to take a stand against the crime of lynching. Wells’ writings are an effective historical text, because she serves as a voice to an underrepresented African American community.
...howing the true race relations throughout the south during that period. Jim Crow laws might not have been in effect and might have been though unnecessary by a portion of southerners, but it would be interesting to find out how many African Americans were lynched during the period before Jim Crow laws became prominent for ‘offenses’ which would later be illegal under Jim Crow. Just as Woodward quoted President Eisenhower as saying “you cannot change people’s hearts merely by law”(163), so the lack of Jim Crow legislation does not necessarily mean that some southerners wanted it and lived as though it existed.
Wells, Ida B. Southern Horrors. Lynch Law in All Its Phase. New York: New York Age Print, 1892. Print. 6.
Between 1882 and 1952 Mississippi was the home to 534 reported lynchings’ more than any other state in the nation (Mills, 1992, p. 18). Jim Crow Laws or ‘Black Codes’ allowed for the legalization of racism and enforced a ‘black way’ of life. Throughout the deep-south, especially in rural communities segr...
I believe this research paper to be a way to honor Davis for her efforts toward furthering justice for all people, no matter their gender or race. Angela Davis grew up surrounded by politically opinionated, educated, and successful family members who influenced her ideals and encouraged her development and ambition. Her father attended St. Augustine’s College, a historically black school in North Carolina (Davis 20). Her brother, Ben Davis, was a successful football player who was a member of teams such as the Cleveland Browns and the Detroit Lions (Davis 23). Her mother, Sallye Davis, was substantially involved in the civil rights movement and was a member of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (Davis 42).
Barnett, Ida B., and Ida B. Barnett. Southern horrors and other writings: the anti-lynching campaign of Ida B. Wells, 1892-1900. Boston, MA: Bedford Books, 1997.
The majority of Feimster’s work focuses on the extralegal violence used by white lynch mobs against black men and women in the south. At the center of advocacy against lynch-culture, was Ida B. Wells. Having been born a slave, Wells understood the racial implications of rape and lynching. Her political activity represented female independence and progress, but in a different way than Felton’s.
Smith, J, & Phelps, S (1992). Notable Black American Women, (1st Ed). Detroit, MI: Gale
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/01/27/a-new-jim-crow.html. Rojas,.
Southern Horror s: Lynch Law in All Its Phases by Ida B. Wells took me on a journey through our nations violent past. This book voices how strong the practice of lynching is sewn into the fabric of America and expresses the elevated severity of this issue; she also includes pages of graphic stories detailing lynching in the South. Wells examined the many cases of lynching based on “rape of white women” and concluded that rape was just an excuse to shadow white’s real reasons for this type of execution. It was black’s economic progress that threatened white’s ideas about black inferiority. In the South Reconstruction laws often conflicted with real Southern racism. Before I give it to you straight, let me take you on a journey through Ida’s
Wells was a fearless anti-lynching crusader, women’s rights advocate, journalist, and speaker. After her parents passed away she became a teacher and received a job to teach at a nearby school. With this job she was able to support the needs of her siblings. In 1844 in Memphis, Tennessee, she was asked by the conductor of the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company to give up her seat on the train to a white man. Wells refused, but was forcefully removed from the train and all the white passengers applauded. Wells was angered by this and sued the company and won her case in the local courts; the local court appealed to the Supreme Court of Tennessee. The Supreme Court reversed the court’s ruling. In Chicago, she helped to develop numerous African American women and reform organizations. Wells still remained hard-working in her anti-lynching crusade by ...