Ida B. Wells-Barnett
Born into slavery in
Holly
Springs
,
Mississippi
in 1862 – a few months before the Emancipation Proclamation, Ida B. Wells was a life-long activist. When she was 16 years old, her parents died of yellow fever, and she raised her six brothers and sisters. Then she became a teacher, and in 1883 moved to
Memphis
where she ran the local African-American newspaper and used it to attack lynching. After her life was threatened, she went to
England
where she established the London Anti-Lynching Committee. She toured
England
,
Scotland
and
Wales
giving speeches, and then moved to
Chicago
where she married attorney Ferdinand Barnett. She also formed the first civic organization for African-American women, continued her crusade against lynching, and was part of the "Committee of 40" which paved the way to the formation of the National Association for Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She died in 1931.
>> Learn more: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/idabwells.html
Born into slavery in
>> Learn more: http://www.webster.edu/~woolflm/idabwells.html