United StatesIda B. Wells
1862-1931Journalist
Birthplace: Holly Springs, MS
Graduate of Rust College
In 1884, Ida Bell Wells boarded the first-class compartment on a train
to her new teaching job. The railroad was operating under "Separate but
Equal" laws. When Wells was asked to move to the smoking car, a scuffle
ensued. After she got off the train she filed a discrimination lawsuit.
She was awarded $500, but the verdict was reversed by Tennessee's Supreme
Court. While teaching in Memphis, Wells also wrote for black newspapers
using the pen name "Iola." She eventually became a full-time
journalist and was editor and part-owner of a small, militant newspaper,
the Free Speech and Headlight. It was at this time that she began
her campaign against lynching. In 1893, she formed the Ida B. Wells Women's
Club and organized the first suffrage group among black women. She established
the first kindergarten in a black neighborhood. Ida Bell Wells spent her
life fighting for the rights of blacks and women.
Web Resources
Just the Arti-Facts: Ida B. Wells
Photos of and biographical information about Ida B. Wells.
http://www.chicagohistory.org/AOTM/Mar98/mar98fact2.html
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