Making Ida B. Wells

Making

WBEZ Chicago

Society & Culture

4.6 • 3.7K Ratings

🗓️ 8 December 2022

⏱️ 36 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

When Ida B. Wells was just 21 years old, authorities kicked her off a train for sitting in the all-white “ladies’ car.” She sued. She wrote about the experience in her local church newspaper. “I felt that one had better die fighting against injustice than to die like a dog or a rat in a trap,” she said later. Wells would soon become one of America’s greatest journalism pioneers. After the lynching of her close friend, she investigated the prevalence of lynchings across the American South. She collected data, interviewed sources on the ground and wrote fiery articles that dispelled racist myths. By the end of the campaign, she was one of the most famous Black women in America. While her force can be felt over a century later, in her time Wells faced backlash from the white and Black community alike. She co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People – or NAACP – in 1909, but was temporarily ousted for being too radical. “Doing good journalism actually means that you're not making any friends,” said journalist Caitlin Dickerson, who wrote Wells’ obituary for The New York Times series Overlooked. “It’s a bad sign if there's one group of people who think of you as ‘on their side.’” On the latest episode of Making, host Brandon Pope leads a conversation with Dickerson, Wells’ great-granddaughter Michelle Duster and acclaimed scholar Paula Giddings, author of Ida: A Sword Among Lions, on the life and legacy of this journalism and civil rights hero.

Transcript

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0:00.0	A quick warning. This episode contains discussions about lynching and sexual assault.
0:07.6	Journalist, activist. One of the most famous black women of her time.
0:16.5	Ida B. Wells said the way to write wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.
0:21.2	She dedicated her life's work to fighting racism and inequality,
0:24.2	but she was also a fierce advocate for African-American women.
0:27.2	A woman that was really willing to sacrifice everything.
0:31.6	From WBEZ Chicago, this is Making. I'm Brandon Pope. Today, making Ida B. Wells. In a divided
0:40.3	America, she shined a light on racist laws and public lynchings in the deep south,
0:45.5	with an investigative reporting that shook the nation. In the face of a gregious violence,
0:51.5	what does it take to tear down the oppressor? What were the critical moments that shaped Ida B. Wells?
0:59.8	Joining us are three guests who can dissect her legacy, a claim to story and an activist,
1:04.6	Paula Giddings, who author the biography Ida, a sword among lions.
1:09.3	Ida Wells really is the founder of the modern civil rights movement.
1:13.2	The Atlantic journalist, Caitlin Dickerson, who wrote Ida's New York Times obituary for their
1:17.8	series Overload. She was so compellingly correct about things that the country really did not want
1:24.4	to acknowledge. And Ida B. Wells' great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster, author of several books celebrating
1:30.9	her legacy. Ida B. Wells influenced America by using truth as a weapon. That's today on Making.
1:38.9	Support for Making comes from Indeed. Indeed is the hiring platform where you can attract,
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