Biography

Ida B. Wells was born into slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi in 1862. Her parents, James and Elizabeth, strongly encouraged Ida to pursue an education. Ida attended a school not far from home and enjoyed reading the bible as well as Shakespeare. Her father was actively involved in politics and her mother was known to be very religious and a strict disciplinarian. When Ida was 16, a yellow fever plague hit Holly Springs, killing both of her parents and her younger brother. Ida decided to care for her five younger siblings; she dressed up to appear older than she truly was and found a job teaching not too far away. She relied on family and friends to take care of brothers and sisters while she was working. Eventually, one of Ida's family members talked her into moving to Memphis, Tennessee where she continued teaching. Ida's involvement in civil rights began when a conductor tried to make her move from a first class car to a smoking car. After quarreling for quite some time, Ida ended up biting the conductor who kicked her off at the next stop. Ida returned to Memphis immediately and sued the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Company. Although she ultimately ended up losing the case, this unjust treatment sparked her interest in not only civil rights issues, but women's suffrage as well. In 1889, Ida became the co-owner and eventually the editor of a Memphis newspaper, Free Speech and Headlight. In 1892 three African-American males were lynched, one of whom was Ida’s dear friend. After researching the lynching, Ida learned the men were murdered because their business was thriving and therefore threatening the business of a white man’s grocery store down the street. Ida wrote about this case as well as other reasons for lynching in her newspaper. When researching lynching history, Ida found that a large majority of black men were accused of raping white women. Ida, who wrote under the pen-name “Iola”, researched these cases and learned that many of the black men who were killed were engaging in consensual interracial relationships, not raping white women. This particular statement enraged many white males who destroyed the Free Speech and Headlight building and searched for “Iola” the “man” who wrote such offensive articles. Eventually, people discovered that Iola was in fact Ida and sent word if she ever returned to Memphis her life would be in great danger. Taking these threats seriously, as she should, Ida made home in New York where she began investigative reporting for the New York Age. She also crusaded through the United Kingdom campaigning for anti-lynching laws. Ida eventually moved to Chicago where she married the attorney and founder of Chicago’s first African-American Newspaper, the Chicago Conservator; by the age of 33, Ida owned the entire newspaper. Ida also founded several organizations and influenced many others who went on to campaign for African-American women’s rights as well as racial equality. Ida took a break from all of her organizations to raise her four children, but eventually became re-involved with her previous campaigns and stayed active until her death in 1931.