Ida B. Wells: Intrepid Journalist, Spirited Activist, Powerful Woman
Ida B. Wells was born July 16, 1862, in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Wells and her family were enslaved, and it wasn’t until after the Civil War that they were finally set free.
On May 4, 1884, Wells boarded a train with a first class ticket, but was told to move because the first-class seating area was reserved for whites only.
She refused and was forced to vacate her seat. Wells didn’t think it was fair, so she sued the Chesapeake, Ohio and Southwestern Railroad and won $500 settlement.
Unfortunately, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the decision later.
IDA WELLS QUOTE THAT IS JUST AS TRUE TODAY AS IT WAS WHEN IT WAS WRITTEN IN 1892:
The lesson this teaches and which every Afro-American should ponder well, is that a Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home, and it should be used for that protection which the law refuses to give. When the white man who is always the aggressor knows he runs as great a risk of biting the dust every time his Afro-American victim does, he will have greater respect for Afro-American life. The more the Afro-American yields and cringes and begs, the more he has to do so, the more he is insulted, outraged and lynched.