Ida B. Wells-Barnett and American Reform, 1880-1930 (Gender and American Culture)

Pioneering African American journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) is widely remembered for her courageous antilynching crusade in the 1890s; the full range of her struggles against injustice is not as well known. With this book, Patricia Schechter restores Wells-Barnett to her central, if embattled, place in the early reform movements for civil rights, women's suffrage, and Progressivism in the United States and abroad. Schechter's comprehensive treatment makes vivid the scope of Wells-Barnett's contributions and examines why the political philosophy and leadership of this extraordinary activist eventually became marginalized. Though forced into the shadow of black male leaders such as W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington and misunderstood and then ignored by white women reformers such as Frances E. Willard and Jane Addams, Wells-Barnett nevertheless successfully enacted a religiously inspired, female-centered, and intensely political vision of social betterment and empowerment for African American communities throughout her adult years. By analyzing her ideas and activism in fresh sharpness and detail, Schechter exposes the promise and limits of social change by and for black women during an especially violent yet hopeful era in U.S. history. Contents 8 Illustrations 10 Preface 12 Acknowledgments 16 Introduction 22 1.Talking through Tears 28 2.Coming of Age in Memphis 58 3.The Body in Question 102 4.Progress against Itself 142 5.Settlements, Suffrage, Setbacks 190 6.For Women, of Women, by Women 236 Conclusion 268 Notes 276 Abbreviations 276 Introduction 277 Chapter One 277 Chapter Two 284 Chapter Three 293 Chapter Four 306 Chapter Five 316 Chapter Six 330 Conclusion 342 Bibliography 344 Index 384 African American journalist Ida B. Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) is remembered mainly for her anti-lynching crusade in the 1890's. This work seeks to restore her to her central place in the early reform movements for civil rights, women's suffrage, and Progressivism in the United States and abroad Talking Through Tears -- Coming Of Age In Memphis -- The Body In Question -- Progress Against Itself -- Settlements, Suffrage, Setbacks -- For Women, Of Women, By Women. Patricia A. Schechter. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [323]-361) And Index.