Ida B. Wells-Barnett Biography Quiz

Ida B. Wells-Barnett Biography

• Born July 16, 1862 – March 25, 1931
• Orphaned at 16 after family's yellow fever death
• Father of mixed ancestry (slave mother, white owner)
• Mother was part African American, part Native American
• Freed by the Emancipation Proclamation
• Family divided after parents' death; she took charge
• Became a teacher and later a journalist
• Became a prominent anti-lynching activist, journalist, and suffragist

Early Life and Family

• Faced family hardship and division after yellow fever epidemic
• Became a teacher, commuting by mule
• Commuted to teach; family reunification was a priority
• Faced racism in Memphis in 1884; refused to sit in "colored car"
• Sued the railroad and won
• Became a newspaper contributor, fighting against racial injustice
• Mother was a cook, father a carpenter; aided in establishing a university for freed slaves
• Sought education; considered an eighteen-year-old to teach at a school
• Experienced racism through segregation on a train

Activism and Journalism

• Ida became a journalist and activist, focusing on racial injustice
• Became a contributor to the The Evening Star newspaper
• Ida's writing protested against racial segregation, injustice, and lynching
• Writing exposed lynching atrocities and racism, urging the public to address the wrongs
• Ida used journalism to bring light to societal wrongs

Lynching Activism

• Focused on combating lynching, a brutal act against African Americans
• Her outspokenness resulted in threats and danger
• Three friends were brutally lynched; her activism was directly spurred by this
• She wrote about the injustice of lynching, highlighting the brutality and racism involved
• Brought awareness to the societal injustice of lynching
• Became a prominent voice against the injustice through writing

Suffrage and Legacy

• Became involved in the women's suffrage movement
• Formed the Alpha Suffrage Club
• Was concerned that African American women were not involved in national suffrage
• Became the first black women's suffrage association founder
• Worked with other suffrage figures during the 1913 parade in Washington, D.C.
• Her activism continued to raise awareness and promote change
• Later married attorney Ferdinand Barnett; continued her work as an activist and journalist
• Her work advanced women's suffrage and rights
• She fought for racial equality and justice throughout her life
• Her work had lasting impacts on society