Ida B. Wells
Wells’ legacy as a devoted journalist and civil rights activist remains potent as ever, standing as America’s most vocal leader against the heinous practice of lynching. Wells realized that lynching was used as an excuse to do away with black people who were acquiring property and wealth and to sow fear into them. As a supporter of women’s voting rights, Wells co-founded the Alpha Suffrage Club, Chicago’s first African American suffrage organization in 1913. The club educated Black women about their civic duties while advocating for the election of Black political officials.
