On March 3, 1913, thousands of women marched on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C., demanding the right to vote. The beloved crusader Ida B. Wells-Barnett was in attendance and ready to march with the Illinois delegation until they played in her face in the worst way possible.
As her group lined up, white suffrage leaders and supposed “allies” pulled a last-minute stunt, suddenly asking Wells-Barnett to march at the back of the procession instead of with her fellow state delegates as planned. Guess what she did instead?
She left them right where they had her messed up. Wells-Barnett moved to the side, waiting along Pennsylvania Avenue until the Illinois group appeared. Then, she stepped directly in front of the delegation and marched. Her refusal and resistance spoke louder than any words.
Revisionist history often says that most Black women marched at the back of the 1913 procession. However, many of them, from state delegates to Howard students, marched right where they belonged, alongside everyone else.
Let Ida B.’s refusal remind us to remain vigilant around allies because everyone doesn’t have our best interests at heart. May we also never forget that we stand on the shoulders of ancestors who weren’t afraid to take what was rightfully theirs.