“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”
—Ida B. Wells
Civil rights pioneer and journalist Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) lived during what some have called “the Nadir,” an era of racial backlash after the end of Reconstruction marked by endemic racial violence. It was a time of devastating setbacks for the cause of racial justice, but it was also a time when critical Black institutions and mutual aid organizations were founded. Despite the times, Ida B. Wells did not turn away from the work at hand. She co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), started her own newspaper, fought for women’s suffrage, and crusaded against lynching.
She put her keen intelligence to analyzing one of the worst problems of her day. At a time when many looked at lynchings individually and locally, Wells understood there was a systematic campaign “to get rid of Negroes who were acquiring wealth and property and thus keep the race terrorized.” As her biographer, historian Paula Giddings, put it, “Her genius was to be able to see something and draw new conclusions about it….” Despite the danger to herself and her family, Wells visited sites of recent lynchings and conducted extensive investigations. She toured the U.S. and Britain speaking the truth about the real motivations behind this horrifying racial violence.
Wells’ painstaking work collecting data in communities where lynchings had just occurred convinced other Black leaders of the day and the newly founded NAACP to take up a campaign against lynchings on a national scale. She pioneered techniques of investigative journalism and was awarded a posthumous Pulitzer Prize in 2020.
At a time when more than 300,000 Black women have lost their jobs and with misogynoir on the rise in public discourse, it is worth taking a moment to reflect on the example of Ida B. Wells and so many others as we remember we have been in times of even worse racial backlash before. We can take courage from her example and bring our knowledge and talents to bear on what seem like intractable problems. What does Ida B. Well’s example call you to do?
TODAY’S PRACTICE
Reflect in your journal: When is a time you made a way out of no way? What work is in front of you that needs doing? What networks of mutual support are needed to help those who are suffering?
LEARN MORE
Watch: Nikole Hannah-Jones Tells the Story of Investigative Journalist Ida B. Wells
CALLS TO ACTION
REGISTER HERE to join us TOMORROW, Wednesday, February 18th at 7:30 pm ET to learn how to practice Liberation Table—a space to reflect, connect, and build something meaningful together. Liberation Table is a tradition for Black people of the African Diaspora—an opportunity to gather with friends and family over a meal with African diasporic roots. Register here.
ADD the 2026 Google Liberation Calendar to your own calendar.
JOIN our WhatsApp community to engage w/ fellow participants!
DOWNLOAD the Liberation Table Guide.