February is Black History Month. It’s a time to reflect on the struggles and triumphs of those in the African American community. There is so much history to discuss, but I want to focus on a trailblazing woman.
Women of the movement are often forgotten yet deserved to be celebrated. The trailblazing woman I write of is Ida B. Wells.
Wells was an outspoken woman in a time when women were not expected to have thoughts and opinions. She was a co-founder of the NAACP and a fierce advocate for equal rights and against lynching. Wells was also a journalist and suffragist.
In 1862, Wells was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She was declared free by the Emancipation Proclamation on Jan. 1, 1863. She destroyed the mainstream media’s narratives that suggested lynching victims were criminals. Wells exposed the reality behind lynchings, which were used to sow fear in black communities.
She also worked with Susan B Anthony as a leader in the movement for women’s suffrage. Wells was once confronted by a white train conductor and asked to move back to the colored car. She refused. She had to be physically removed from that car by the conductor and several passengers. This did not rest well with Wells. She sued C&O railroad and won the case in the Circuit Court of Shelby County. Several years later, in 1887, the Tennessee Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision.
Wells was a courageous woman who spoke up against injustice. I’m so fortunate to work for a firm that fights for justice as well. Bordas & Bordas is sponsoring the Lunch with Books at the Ohio County Library. The featured speaker in February is Michelle Duster — the great- granddaughter of Ida B. Wells. Michelle wrote the book “Ida B. the Queen,” which details the life of a civil rights icon.
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