Ida B. Wells was a teacher. Once she and her parents had been released from the bonds of chattel slavery, Wells’ parents made sure she and her siblings understood the power of education. Wells thought her path was set. She was wrong.
Wells was forcibly removed from a train bound for Memphis,Tennessee. She refused to go to the Blacks-only car after paying for a first-class ticket. She sued the railroad, only to have the Tennessee Supreme Court overturn her victory. This was the moment Wells' career trajectory changed.
Wells was a teacher by day and a writer of racial injustice and politics by night. As her articles flourished, her teaching career disappeared. Still, she continued to write and speak out on racial injustice. What happened next made her the legend we know now.
When an angry white mob lynched Wells' close friend, Thomas Moss, she was incensed. She called the angry white mob out directly, then traveled the south investigating and reporting on the realities of the lynchings of Black men.
Ida B. Wells was a teacher, just not a traditional one. She taught the Black community the truth of racial injustice and lynchings through her writing. And there’s another truth: whenever Black liberation calls, we must answer. The possibilities are endless.