Ida B Wells Research Paper

Ida B. Wells was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, on July 16th, 1862. She was born a slave, and was the oldest daughter of James and Lizzie Wells. Just six months after her birth, the slaves in the Confederate states were declared free by the Union, but this did not stop the racial prejudices and discriminatory laws that continued to restrict their freedoms. During Reconstruction, her parents were active in the Republican Party. Her father helped start Shaw University, a school for newly freed slaves. This was where Ida B. Wells received her early schooling, but she had to drop out when both her parents and one of her siblings died from yellow fever. But she was still able to take care of her other siblings, and had a job as a teacher before she was 18 years old.

Wells reached a personal turning point one night when taking a train ride from Memphis to Nashville in May of 1884. Despite having a first-class ticket, she was ordered by the train crew to move to a car for African Americans. Outraged, Wells refused to leave her seat. She was forcibly removed from the train, and this injustice led her to write a number of articles that were
Wells was an important figure in American history because of her intense work as an African American civil rights advocate, which includes her strong cause against lynchings. Her multiple articles and writings outlined the injustices that African Americans faced, some of which were inspired by personal encounters. She fought against the segregation of African Americans and their exclusion from organizations, like the Women’s Christian Temperance Union. She devoted her entire life for political and social progress, and because of this, she was one of the African American activists that influenced the civil rights movement in the 1960’s. Today, Ida B. Wells’ legacy is celebrated with schools and libraries named after her and multiple prize-winning documentaries in honor of the work and justice she has brought to the