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Ida b. wells her struggles
Ida b. wells her struggles
Ida b. wells her struggles
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Introduction “If it were possible, I would gather the race in my arms and fly away with them”, said Ida B. Wells-Barnett (Jim Crow Stories, 2002). The oldest of eight children, Ida B. Wells-Barnett was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1862 to Elizabeth and James Wells (Podesta, 2016). James Wells was the son of his master and a slave woman (Podesta, 2016). Her mother was a cook and her father was a carpenter. Although Ida was born into slavery, education played importance to both Elizabeth and James. James served on the first board of trustees for Rust College, a school founded and run by Northern Missionaries (The Gale Group, 2016). They were both interested in politics and were active in the Republican Party during the Reconstruction, according to a PBS profile of Wells-Barnett (Cleary, 2015). Ida was born six months before Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which freed the slaves. Ida was on track to complete high school, her parents and youngest sibling died along with 301 other residents of Holly Springs in 1878 due to the yellow-fever epidemic (Podesta, 2016). Following their deaths, Ida moved to Memphis, Tennessee with her aunt, where she attended Fisk University. Ida began teaching at the age of fifteen to support her younger brothers and sisters following the death of her parents (Carlton-LaNey, 1998). At age 16, Wells-Barnett became responsible for her younger siblings. She also convinced the superintendent that she was eighteen years old and obtained a position as a teacher that paid her twenty-five dollars a month (The Gale Group, 2016). In 1895, she married Ferdinand Barnett, who shared her passion for civil rights. They had four children. On March 15, 1931, Wells-Barnett died of kidney disea... ... middle of paper ... ... 2015). Wells’ was a committed campaigner for the rights of both women and African American regardless of gender, she never surrendered one group for the other, or the black women who tenanted both (Thomas, 2011). “Her willingness to recognize the limited roles and opportunities for black women made her a “woman before her time,”” Ms. Mayes said (Polke, 2015). Her creation of the Women’s Era club, offered women, especially black women, a public environment from which to build much desired political characters (Thomas, 2011). Wells-Barnett stood as a “one-man army” when it came to defending women, whether she did it on her own or with others. Wells-Barnett was considered a radical in her time because she continuously voiced her opinions of race and gender and even the fact, she spoke up about the issues she faced as a Black woman that some were scared to. (Ana, 2015).
Ida B. Wells-Barnett dedicated her life to social justice and equality. She devoted her tremendous energies to building the foundations of African-American progress in business, politics, and law. Wells-Barnett was a key participant in the formation of the National Association of Colored Women as well as the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She spoke eloquently in support of Marcus Garvey and the Universal Negro Improvement Association. The legacies of these organizations have been tremendous and her contribution to each was timely and indespensible. But no cause challenged the courage and integrity of Ida B. Wells-Barnett as much as her battle against mob violence and the terror of lynching at the end of the 19th century.
Glenda Gilmore’s book Gender & Jim Crow shows a different point of view from a majority of history of the south and proves many convictions that are not often stated. Her stance from the African American point of view shows how harsh relations were at this time, as well as how hard they tried for equity in society. Gilmore’s portrayal of the Progressive Era is very straightforward and precise, by placing educated African American women at the center of Southern political history, instead of merely in the background.
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.
Anna Julia Haywood was born into slavery to Hannah Stanley Haywood and her master, George Washington Haywood, in 1858.1 At the age of nine, she enrolled in St. Augustine's Normal School and Collegiate Institute for free Blacks. Cooper married St. Augustine graduate George Cooper, in 1877. His death in 1879 "ironically allowed her to pursue a ca reer as a teacher, whereas no married woman—black or white—could continue to teach."2 Cooper received a Bachelor's and a Master's degree from Oberlin College, and was first recruited to teach in 1887. She taught at M Street High School, Washingto n's only black high school, for many years, and was the subject of public controversy because of her educational philosophy.
She was an abolitionist and women’s right’s activist and was born a slave in New York State. She bore around thirteen children and had three of them sold away from her. She became involved in supporting freed people during the Reconstruction Period.
In 1868, Marry Harris Jones’ lost her entire family to yellow fever. She was 37 years old and it killed her four children and her husband. It had swept Memphis where they lived. After this happened to her, Mary moved to Chicago to become a seamstress.
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). In addition, her mother joined the Southern Negro Youth Congress which had strong ties to the Communist Party. This involvement greatly influenced Davis as she had many associations with members of the party which later shaped her political views (“Complexity, Activism, Optimism: An Interview with Angela Y. Davis”).
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.
During this period of young adulthood, the values Anthony learned during childhood formed into opinions on current issues. Anthony believed in the equality of all people and fought against the racism and segregation of 19th century United States. After moving to New York, the Anthony family hosted regular abolitionist meetings for the local Quaker community at their new home (Lutz). Anthony was also involved in the tempe...
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 ...
Ida B. Wells born in Holly Springs, Mississippi on July 16, 1862 and died March
While Bessie was young, and her older brothers and sisters started to work in the fields, Bessie took on some new responsibilities. She would now look after her sisters, and sometimes even help her mother in the garden. Bessie started school when she was six years old and walked four miles to school everyday. In school, she was very intelligent and excelled at math. Then, in 1901, when Bessie was nine, her life changed dramatically, her father George Coleman left his family. It was said that he was tired of the racial barriers that existed, and so he returned to Oklahoma (Indian Territory as it was called then) to search for better opportunities. When he was unable to convince his family to come with him, he left Susan and his family. Shortly thereafter, her older brothers also moved out, leaving Susan with four girls under the age of nine. This caused Susan to have to get a job, which she found very soon. She became a housekeeper for Mr. and Mrs. Jones, who allowed Susan to still live at home, and they would also give her food and other handed-down clothing. Since her mother was now at work, Bessie took on the responsibility of acting as a mother and a housekeeper. Every year at the cotton harvest, Bessie’s routine was changed because she now had to go out into the field and pick cotton for her family to be able to survive. This continued on until Bessie was twelve, and this was when she was accepted into the Missionary Baptist Church, where she completed all of her eight grades.
Davis went on to write several books even to write an Autobiography about herself, and who she became. She also wrote “Woman, Culture, and Politics” in 1989, this book is a collection of excerpts from speeches that go over the woman in today's society, the cultural bearers the U.S. struggles with, and that politics. One of Davis’ other books she published was “ Blues legacies and Black Feminism.” This book really talks about the rights that females had when she was younger and what she and other feminist leaders did to fight for more rights for
At one of Paul’s demonstrations in DC, they are speaking to women factory workers who are not aware that they should be able to vote for something like having a fire exit in the factory. Gaining the support from working class women was very important to the movement because these women are at the brunt of society’s negative views and are most affected by the societal hardships. Paul’s feminist movement received additional support from Ida B. Wells, an African American women rights activist, as long as they were allowed to march with the white women, not behind them. Although this minute aspect of the movie did not thoroughly discuss the racist issues also present at the time, it made me think about Sojourner Truth’s speech ‘Ain’t I a Woman?’ Representation from all races and social classes is imperative in the fight for women’s equality because African American women are women too, color does not matter.