The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells - (Black Women Writers Series) by Ida B Wells-Barnett (Paperback)

About the Book

Published for the first time in its entirety, The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells tracks the young Ida through her transition from schoolteacher to a fearless crusader against lynching in the late 19th century. This unique document provides rare insight into the lives of 19th-century African-American women. Features a foreword by Mary Helen Washington.

Book Synopsis

Published for the first time in its century, this "meticulously edited contribution to the study of American women's diaries and late-19th-century women's and black history" (Kirkus Reviews) offers an intimate look at the hopes, thoughts and day-to-day life of the young woman who would later become the celebrated civil rights activist and antilynching crusader.

Review Quotes

'DeCosta-Willis makes it possible to look back in a new way into the character of Wells and, more than that, into the daily life of African Americans a century ago.' --Chicago Tribune

'A unique look at the life of an independent, unmarried African-American woman coping with financial hardships, romantic entanglements, sexism and racism. A substantial contribution to African-American studies.' --Publishers Weekly

"Wells's diary, covering the period 18851887, is remarkable as it is one of the few diaries of an African-American woman from the late 19th century. DeCosta-Willis provides context and additional information....A meticulously edited contribution to the study of American women's diaries and late-19th-century women's and black history."--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) was a prominent journalist, suffragist, and cofounder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). She used investigative journalism techniques to document and expose lynching in the United States. Her published works include Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases and The Red Record Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States, as well as The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells.