Ida B Wells

Ida B. Wells

Ida B. Wells was an extremely influential woman who helped shape the course of the United States during an era ruled by hatred. Born in Mississippi in 1862, she was brought into this world as a slave. But even though that title would be removed, her status as a second class citizen would remain throughout her life. Against the odds she became an influential reporter who traveled the world, trying to shed light on the horrors that were being covered up back home in the United States. As a result she received many death threats and promises of violence, which during this time were rarely bluffs, and eventually forced her to move away from home and to the North. But because of the bravery this second class woman we all can experience a legacy that can still be learned from today. Her matter-of-fact style of reporting the murders and lynchings of African Americans, contrary to the laissez-faire attitude of the white press, would accurately portray the despicable acts being perpetrated by the 'noble' first class, and dispel any illusions of equality they had managed to create.

As a member of a poor freedman family her options in life were severely limited, a situation further exacerbated when her parents succumbed to the yellow fever. As a necessity she grew up fast, and at the age of 18 she was supporting the rest of her family with a teaching position outside of town. She endured this for around a year, before an aunt offered to let her and her sisters move to Memphis, Tennessee. Ida had acquired a strong sense of self, a confidence in her abilities, a bright streak social responsibility and a desire to participate actively in community development (Royster 15). In Memphis Ida was able to become a prominent figure in her community, becoming an editor and then a columnist within local papers. It was during her stay in Memphis then an event occurred that would be a turning point for Ida, shaping the course of her life from then on. During a mundane railroad trip, Ida was kicked off the train for sitting in the ladies car, instead of the smoking car where she apparently belonged. She did not accept her treatment, as it clearly infringed upon her rights, and sued the Chesapeake, Ohio, and Southwestern railroad company and won the suit. The decision was appealed, and the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the decision (Royster 17). This infuriated Ida, who knew that the only reason the decision was overturned was based on the color of her skin. The decision decided for Ida the role she was going to play within her community as a reporter. Ida became well known for her bold style of journalism and her blunt honesty, and quickly became renowned in spite of her obvious disadvantage of being a second class citizen.

Ida B. Wells gained international notoriety during her campaign against the lynchings of freedmen, and as a result she garnered much resentment and hatred from the majority of southern whites. Lynching is the act of unlawful tortures and executions, and Jacqueline Jones Royster gives two possible origins for lynch law. The first comes from Virginia and is accredited to Judge Charles Lynch. He had been found illegally punishing British loyalists with acts of humiliation and degradation, such as whipping or tar and feathering. The second is attributed to a place, Lynche's Creek in South Carolina, where a group called the Regulators were known to commit acts of unlawful violence against suspected British loyalists, or to competitors trying to rival them in power (Royster 9). Lynching in the South has two stages that we can understand, pre and post Civil War. Pre Civil War lynching was a different beast. Normally targeting white men, or women, who went against the grain of society. Alcoholics, woman abusers, rapists, and even political dissidents were often targeted by a lynch mob, but primarily the victim was white. As we discussed in class, blacks were rarely lynched because it just didn't make sense to kill them. Why would a man kill his own work mule? It made much more sense to punish with nonlethal violence, because tomorrow he will still be able to work. Post Civil War, all of that changed. White men were still lynched, but the numbers of blacks that became victims of mob justice exploded. The mentality of the South changed, and it is during this time that whites begin to act out their frustrations in the most horrendous of ways.

Lynching became a cultural phenomenon, and often was the preferred way to end a dispute with a colored man, no matter how trivial. Regularly minor disputes would be inflated to major offenses, such as an accidental brush-up against a white woman would often become a justifiable attempt of rape, and the punishment was swiftly carried out. The South became enamored with the 'Cult of White Womanhood', an attempt to protect the honor and innocence of white women everywhere. This was one of the first things Ida attempted to dispel, this wild accusation that black men were running rampant in the streets, trying to have their way with any white woman they happened by.

"Nobody in this section of the country believes the old thread-bare lie that negro men rape white women. If Southern white men are not careful they will over-reach themselves, and public sentiment will have a reaction; and a conclusion will be reached which will be very damaging to the moral reputation of their women." (Royster 52)

She believed that the only people they were fooling was themselves, and even then it was arguably a weak guise. White and black people were having sex prior to the Civil