Special and Interesting Facts

I lived a very interesting and eventful life. Some things were good, and some things were not. First off, my colored friend, Tom Moss, was lynched for defending himself with a gun. This had happened when he had started a grocery store business with some other colored men. Black customers started to shop at his store instead of the white grocer's. The white grocer became angry when this happened and wanted Tom's business to end. It ended when the store was attacked by a white mob, and Tom fired at them with his friends. They were arrested without fair trial and murdered. This news shocked me, for I knew Tom would never commit a crime.

Another fact you should know about me is that I wanted the world to see the truth. Most blacks during my time were scared to see and speak the truth, but I dared them to. I would settle for no less then fair treatment and justice. Determination is what kept me from letting white threats from bothering me. It was challenging, but I just put in as much effort as I could. That was all I could do.

The last thing you should know about me is that I was good friends with Susan B. Anthony, who gave strong efforts towards getting women the right to vote. She also spoke out against slavery which often crossed paths with me. Susan was a dear friend of mine, even though we didn't always agree on things. For instance, Susan did not invite a black leader, Frederick Douglass, to a convention because she did not want to offend Southern women with him being there. I thought it was wrong for her not to invite him.

Charcter Traits

Here are some character traits that I was often called:

Brave- Many people thought I was brave because I didn't get off the white train when a conductor was trying to force me to. I refused to get out of my seat and eventually bit the conductor who had tried to grab me. He stormed away and went looking for help. The three men helping him yanked me out of my seat, ripping my linen coat. At the next station, I got off the train because I was not going to go to the smoking car.

Literate- I was a very gifted writer. People read my newspaper articles I wrote, expressing my beliefs about segregation. All over the nation, my writing was viewed. Therefore, I was described as literate.

Passionate- . In my writing, I stuck up for my beliefs. For example, a colored women was arrested and murdered without a fair trial. When I heard of this, I wrote in an article defending my point of view that there wasn't much evidence against the black women. People saw this type of writing as passionate.

Mature- I was described as mature because of what happened when my parents died. I was 16 when this occurred and was left with my five younger siblings to nurture. Many think this responsibility took maturity from me.

Independent- I was called this because I didn't want to marry. The reason was that I didn't want to loose my independence. I also wanted black people to be independent and not bossed around.

Effect on the World or Other People

For my fellow African Americans, I worked very hard for freedom. Back when I lived, in the late 1800's, blacks were very poorly treated and harshly discriminated against. To me, this was very unfair and wrong. I did everything I could to prevent discrimination. Leading and speaking to people was my duty. I had to fight and teach throughout the U.S. and other countries so my people could one day gain equality. One way I spread my message was by writing newspaper articles. I wrote in a newspaper called Free Speech and expressed all of my beliefs there. I wrote encouraging words saying that if you worked hard and saved money, your life would be better. However, I also wrote angry words about dishonest people who were too scared to fight for change.

Another effect I had on the world was on lynching African Americans. During my time, blacks would get accused of crimes and executed without fair trial. When they were killed for these "crimes," whites would line up and watch them. The whites would cheer and even take their kids out of school to watch these poor colored men and women be killed. Believing against this strongly, I fought hard against it and spread my messages around the world. People listened to me and backed me up, including people from England. I made trips there and even inspired The London Anti-Lynching Committee to be formed. Terrible tales of lynching were told by me as I toured through England.

Background Information

Hello everybody! My name is Ida B. Wells-Barnett. I was born an African American slave on July 16, 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. However, I was set free by the Civil War before I was even three years old. As a young child, I attended school at Shaw University, a school founded by a Methodist minister who wanted to help teach Southern African Americans. There, I was given reading and writing lessons and encouraged to be ladylike. These values were also taught to me at home. Each night, my siblings and I would have to complete our homework and then do our chores. We went to Sunday school each week and were raised to have a deep faith in God like our mother.

In 1878, when I was 16, yellow fever hit my town, Holly Springs, brutally. I was at my grandmother's when this happened and received a letter informing me that my parents had passed away. I headed home to see the children. Five out of six of my younger brothers and sisters had survived. Stanley, the baby, had died leaving Annie, Lily, Jim, George, and Eugenia. People had offered to take some of the kids, but I decided to care for them myself, so the family could stick together. I knew it was a tough responsibility, but I didn't want my family to be scattered among many homes.