Ida B. Wells (born Ida Bell Wells; July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931) was a pioneering African-American journalist, suffragist, and [[civil rights]] activist. Born into [[slavery]] during the Civil War, Wells rose to prominence as an investigative journalist and anti-lynching crusader, advocating for racial and gender equality throughout her life. Wells was born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, to enslaved parents James and Elizabeth Wells. After the [[Emancipation Proclamation]], her parents became politically active in [[Reconstruction]] Era politics, instilling in her a strong sense of racial pride and advocacy. Tragically, Wells lost her parents and a sibling in the 1878 yellow fever epidemic. At just 16 years old, she took on the responsibility of raising her remaining siblings. To support her family, Wells became a schoolteacher, which fueled her passion for education and [[social justice]]. ## Journalism career In the 1880s, Wells moved to Memphis, Tennessee, where she continued to work as a teacher. She began writing articles for local African-American newspapers using the pen name "Iola." Her journalism career took off after a personal experience with racial [[discrimination]] on a train in 1884. Wells filed a lawsuit against the railroad company and started writing about the incident and other instances of racial injustice. In 1892, Wells became a co-owner and editor of "The Memphis Free Speech and Headlight," an African-American newspaper. That same year, after three of her friends were lynched by a white mob, she began investigating and documenting lynchings across the South. Her articles exposed the brutal and unjust nature of this practice, revealing that lynchings were often used as a form of social control rather than a response to criminal activity. ## Anti-Lynching Campaign and Activism Wells's journalistic exposés on lynching provoked violent reactions from white supremacists, who destroyed her newspaper office in Memphis. Undeterred, she continued her investigations and published a pamphlet titled "Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases" (1892), followed by "The Red Record" (1895), which documented the prevalence of lynchings and debunked the myths used to justify them. Wells moved to Chicago in the 1890s, where she continued her anti-lynching campaign and [[civil rights]] activism. She helped to found several important organizations, including the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) in 1896 and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. Wells also played an active role in the women's [[suffrage]] movement, advocating for voting rights for African-American women. ## Later life and legacy Wells married Ferdinand L. Barnett, an attorney and newspaper editor, in 1895. The couple had four children, and Wells balanced her family life with her tireless activism. She continued to write, lecture, and work for civil rights and social reform until her death in 1931. Ida B. Wells is remembered as a trailblazing journalist, a fearless advocate for racial justice, and a pioneering leader in both the civil rights and women's suffrage movements. Her work laid the foundation for future civil rights activists and contributed significantly to the eventual decline of lynchings in the United States. In 2020, Wells was posthumously awarded the Pulitzer Prize for her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans during the era of lynching. See also: [[Reconstruction Timeline]], [[white supremacy]], [[free speech (1A)]]