Early life & Family history
When was Ida B Wells born?
July 16, 1862
Where did she receive her main formal education after emancipation?
Rust College, which was formerly called Shaw University.
What is conflict theory ?
An academic framework that examines how racism is built into laws, policies, and social institutions rather than being only the result of individual prejudice.
What was the Alpha Suffrage Club (ASC)?
It was the first Black suffrage club in Chicago.
What is labeling theory?
Labeling Theory is described as a “label” that criminalizes individuals linking them to deviance that stems from restriction of power and is used as a justification for crime inflicted upon them
What age did Ida get emancipated?
3
Why did she have to leave school in 1878?
She was forced to leave because her parents died from yellow fever.
What was the purpose of Ida B well research ?
To expose lynching and economic control, education, segregation, and women’s suffrage.
What were the long-term risks for the Black community if Wells-Barnett had agreed to march at the back of the parade as requested?
If she had marched in the back, it would have signaled that the women's suffrage movement was a "boon to white supremacy" rather than equality. Her defiance proved that Black women would not accept second-class citizenship in the fight for the vote.
How can economic competition be linked to the practice of lynching?
Economic competition threatened white social dominance, so lynchings were sometimes used to eliminate Black economic competition.
How many siblings did Ida take care of?
6
What did she do while teaching in Memphis to continue her education?
She attended Fisk University during several summer sessions
What year did she publish the red record ?
1895
Why was the ASC founded in 1913 considering that it was the "first" for the city of Chicago?
It specifically focused on empowering Black women to use the ballot to improve their own communities and ward off political corruption.
How does labeling theory explain the social construction of deviance?
Deviance isn’t inherent but socially assigned through labels that restrict power and legitimize discrimination.
Who is Ida husband?
Ferdinand Barnett
How was she still considered highly educated even without a degree?
She became highly educated through her teaching, writing, and activism.
How does critical race theory and Ida B wells research focuses on ?
Exposing how racism operates as a system of power, not just individual acts of prejudice.
Wells-Barnett distributed her pamphlet The Reason Why at the 1893 World’s Fair and lectured throughout the United Kingdom. How did these international efforts create pressure on domestic American policies regarding lynching and segregation?
Her UK lectures inspired the London Anti-Lynching Committee. By shaming the U.S. internationally, she made racial violence a "national crime" that damaged America’s global reputation, forcing domestic leaders to address it.
How did Ida B. Wells advocate specifically for Black women’s right?
She showed that friends who were lynched were falsely labeled as rapists, despite no evidence, to justify their deaths
How did Ida parents and younger brother die?
Yellow Fever Epidemic
What recognition did she later receive for her lifelong commitment to education and activism?
Honorary degrees
Name groups that used & approved lynching laws ?
Politics, judges, and law enforcement.
Why did Wells-Barnett believe that statistics were a more effective tool for activism than emotional appeals or storytelling alone?
Statistics provided "statistical data on the history and alleged causes of lynchings." Wells used them to debunk the myth that lynching was a response to crime, proving instead it was about economic and political control.
How does Feminist Theory analyze the impact of systemic factors such as race, gender, class, and sexuality?
By showing how these intersecting factors affect opportunities, social standing, and experiences of oppression, particularly for women.