Ida B. Wells: Activism Provoking Change For Black Americans

Olivia Rocha

Robert Hines

History 1301

August 2, 2023

Activism Provoking Change for Black Americans

Once the ending of slavery took place in 1865, a new epidemic struck Black Americans, lynching. Lynching is when white mobs capture these black individuals and then commit brutal tortures and death on these victims. It did not matter if you were a Black woman, a Black child, or an innocent Black man, they were all victims of this disparity. These actions were either hushed away by the white people or were not counteracted with justice because those who interfered could also be lynched. However, a Black American woman named Ida B. Wells fought to uncover these incidents and inform her community of this destruction. She began seeking out anti-lynching

Wells began investigating lynchings. With this, she revealed crucial information that would soon be accessible to the public. To understand her sources, she traced back to the original locations of the victims' deaths. She also found it resourceful to get the stories from the family members of the victims and those who had witnessed the incident. Wells was mostly intrigued by the idea of "venturing into the taboo realm of sexuality," which would lead her to understand one of the major causes of these lynchings (Myrick-Harris, pg. 97). During her investigation, she found that the victims that were tortured and murdered for rape, had a low probability of even committing this crime because "rape had never been alleged in two-thirds of the lynchings." Wells found that those who claimed rape were usually white women that were caught having affairs and needed to find any way to cover up this incident. When these discoveries were published in Wells's newspaper, many different reactions occurred. The white supremacists were furious about this alternative information. They became so belligerent that they destroyed her office and "promised to lynch Wells if she returned" (Myrick-Harris, pg. 97). Meanwhile, others felt more surprised that this was a major reason for the lynchings. This finding might have helped ease the guilt of the victim's family and assisted them with their grieving.

Wells produced. Yet, I still find a sense of passion to educate myself over preceding issues and find ways to help in-need communities. In the present day, the United States still faces injustices among many communities, including the homeless, religious minorities, wildlife, Native Americans, LGBTQ individuals, Transgender youth, still amongst the black community, and many other minorities. I feel passionate enough about all these issues and have even used my sense of activism for these causes. In previous academic courses, I had the opportunity of researching and writing essays about some of these injustices. Even in my local community, I had the chance to participate in protests and events to show my support. I have attempted to actively work for these causes in the tradition of Ida B. Wells. In addition, I have focused my attention on the present issues in the Transgender community. To the best of my knowledge, I have attempted to educate myself about the injustices these individuals face, the laws that will affect their livelihoods, the statistics of homelessness in Trans communities, and other predominant issues that infiltrate their community. In the present day, Americans of many backgrounds face discrimination and injustices, and I feel that it is our job to educate ourselves on these problems and combat them in many ways, just like Ida B.