The Library of Virginia
 

Seay J. Miller

 


Drawing - Kentucky's Crimes newspaper article

Ida Bell Wells-Barnett [July16, 1865-March 25, 1931]

The daughter of slaves, Ida [Iola] Wells was a noted African-American teacher, journalist and public speaker, an early advocate of education for black children, and the rights of black women. She turned her attention to the antilynching movement in 1892 after three of her friends were lynched. She traveled extensively throughout the United States and England founding antilynching societies and black women's clubs. She argued that lynching stemmed not from the defense of white womanhood but from white's fear of black economic competition.

The above image is an example of her work as journalist and advocate for Human Rights. It appeared in the Richmond Planet on August 26, 1893.


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