10 Facts You May Not Have Known About Ida B. Wells

By Ricky Riley | Published on July 16, 2014 | Updated on July 17, 2014 12:26 AM EDT

National Association of Black Journalists and the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University jointly each year offer the Ida B. Wells Award. The award is given to individuals or groups who have provided leadership in increasing access and opportunities to people of color , and improving the coverage of communities of color in American media. The award was first presented in 1983.

Wells was advised by friends stop her editorials about lynchings because she was becoming the target of angry white men and women. Instead, Wells decided to carry a pistol, saying, “I had already determined to sell my life as dearly as possible if attacked.”

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