Wells-Barnett, Ida B.

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862–1931) was one of the most prominent African American political activists of the 19th and 20th centuries and a journalist known for her role as a daring anti-lynching crusader. While Wells-Barnett was well-known during her lifetime, her accomplishments were not fully recognized during her lifetime and were largely overlooked after her death until the 1970s. Wells-Barnett used all of the communication tools at her disposal—her voice, her pen, and her press—in advocating for human rights and social justice.

Wells-Barnett engaged in domestic and international lecture circuit tours and letter and editorial writing campaigns. She used investigative techniques to generate data-based reports designed to expose injustices, particularly the horrors of lynch law, and to prompt collective action that demanded equal rights for all U.S. ...