"She fought a lonely and almost single-handed fight, with the
single-mindedness of a crusader, long before men or women of any race
entered the arena; and the measure of success she achieved goes far
beyond the credit she has been given in the history of the country."
(Alfreda M. Duster)
Ida B. Wells is an American icon of truth telling. Born to slaves, she
was a pioneer of investigative journalism, a crusader against lynching,
and a tireless advocate for suffrage, both for women and for African
Americans. She cofounded the NAACP, started the Alpha Suffrage Club in
Chicago, and was a leader in the early civil rights movement, working
alongside W. E. B. Du Bois, Madam C. J. Walker, Mary Church Terrell,
Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony.
This engaging memoir, originally published 1970, relates Wells' private
life as a mother as well as her public activities as a teacher,
lecturer, and journalist in her fight for equality and justice. This
updated edition includes a new foreword by Eve L. Ewing and a new
afterword by Ida B. Wells' great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster.