Ida B Wells Research Paper

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Ida Barnett Wells was born a slave on July 16, 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. She was the oldest child of eight children for her parents. Approximately six months after Ida B. Wells was conceived, African American slaves were ordered to be free by the Union, thanks to the Emancipation Proclamation. However, since Ida Wells’ family resided in Mississippi, they still were facing racial prejudices and were confided by discriminatory rules and practices (pbs.org, 2002).
Ida Barnett Wells’ parents were extremely involved in the Republican Party throughout the Reconstruction. Unfortunately, they died in a yellow fever outbreak in the late 1870s as well as one of Ida’s sibling. This catastrophe unfortunately left Ida B. Wells to take care of her other brothers and sisters. However, Ida Wells was once a student at Rust College, where she obtained her early education, unfortunately she stopped going to school at the age of sixteen (Biography.com Editors, 2016).
Moreover, Ida Wells and her sisters migrated to Memphis, Tennessee to reside with her aunt. Her brothers on the other hand stayed in Mississippi and worked as carpenter apprentices. Furthermore, in Memphis, Tennessee, Ida B. Wells lied about her actual age and became a teacher. Nevertheless, Ida B. Wells, continued her education at Fisk University, which is located in Nashville (Biography.com …show more content…

Wells used to travel by train from Memphis, Tennessee to Nashville. However, one day in May of 1884, Wells purchased a first class train ticket to go to Nashville. Ida B. Wells was upset when the train crew demanded her to move to the car that was for African Americans, and refused on principle. However, as they moved Ida Wells by extreme, she angrily bit one of the white men on his arm. Ida Wells eventually sued the railroad and she won approximately five hundred dollars settlement in the circuit court. Unfortunately, the conclusion was later overturned by the Supreme Court in Tennessee (pbs.org,

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