Ida Wells was born a slave in 1862, and was orphaned by the yellow fever epidemic of 1878. But somehow Ida Wells managed to get an education and become a teacher. Then, in 1884, she was forcibly removed from the first-class ladies coach on a railroad, and she filed a suit against the railroad. Though she first won the case and later lost it before the Memphis Supreme Court, the incident set off her career in journalism. She became the Memphis correspondent for African-American newspapers in Northern cities.
Ida’s stories about the atrocities committed against the blacks made her a hero in the African American community, but angered white people in Memphis. She moved to New York, and launched an anti-lynching crusade. For the next several years, Ida Wells became one of America’s most prolific writers and speakers about the lynching that were happening with some regularity in the South.
Wells spoke all over the North, and on two occasions, conducted speaking tours of England. In the process, she had many admirers but, in an era where her candour was very unique, many critics as well.
In addition to being an active writer and speaker for her entire life, Ida also married and raised four children. Today, many people regard Ida – a journalist, activist, teacher, organizer and plaintiff- as one of the forerunners of the Civil Rights Movement.
