The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States

Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) was an investigative journalist, researcher, and activist during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. She helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), an organization that continues to advocate for civil rights and social justice today. Wells was also highly active in the women’s suffrage and women’s rights movements, but she was not afraid to speak her mind or to admonish activists whom she felt were too narrow-minded. Her writing style is noted for its frank and direct voice, lacking an inaccessible or academic style.

Wells was born into slavery in Arkansas in 1862. After the Civil War, her parents became involved in Reconstruction activism, and her father served as a trustee of Rust College, where Wells studied. Her parents and brother died of yellow fever when she was only 16, and Wells left college and worked to keep her remaining siblings from entering foster care. She taught in both Arkansas and Tennessee and began writing articles for newspapers, including The Detroit Plaindealer and The People’s Choice. Wells was also the one-third owner and editor of The Memphis Free Speech and Head Light.