Customer Reviews

Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells (Negro American Biographies and Autobiographies)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I read 'Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells' as part of a class in ethical and prophetic witness for seminary. This was, frankly, not the kind of book I was likely to read apart from a class assignment. But I am very glad to have been given the opportunity -- sometimes things we have to do are in fact good for us!

Ida B. Wells was an African-American woman of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. She was born and grew up in the South, born in Mississippi during the Civil War. It is significant the impact of the legacy of slavery on her life -- she recounts how her parents, who were married as slaves, remarried each other as free persons after the war. Wells was a determined and intelligent woman -- her parents died while she was young, yet old enough to be left with the responsibility of her younger brothers and sisters. At the age of 14 she found herself at the head of a household with five younger children.

She worked hard to make sure that her education did not suffer, and eventually (a rarity for women of any colour in America at the time) went to work for a newspaper.

In an incident that foreshadowed Rosa Parks, she was once removed from a train for sitting in the wrong section, despite her ownership of a valid ticket for the seat. She sued the railroad and won (newspaper headlines read 'Darky Damsel Gets Damages' without concern for the racist tone), but the judgment was overturned on appeal, and she later discovered her lawyers had been paid off by the railroads, and the appellate judges had thought she was just being uppity to pursue the matter.

Such was the state of the African-American community that none came to her assistance as she pursued this fight. This made her more determined to organise and fight.

Several of her newspaper partners and other friends in Memphis were lynched for these efforts, and Wells was threatened herself, and left the South, but did not give up her crusade. Where ever she went, through cities and towns in the North as well as over to Europe (where, she said, she felt like she was treated as a real human being equal with others for the first time) she decried the injustice of laws which dismissed charges or gave light sentences if victims were coloured, and prosecuted more strongly, gave out harsher sentences, or even resorted to lynch mobs if the defendant (who was often not guilty) was coloured.

'She fought a lonely and almost single-handed fight, with the single-mindedness of a crusader, long before men or women of any race entered the arena, and the measure of success she achieved goes far beyond the credit she has been given the history of the country.'

She continued speaking and publishing up to her death in 1931. She was never afraid of making herself unpopular, and often upset the African-American community by being critical of their complacency (especially the upper and middle classes). She became unpopular by standing against the military service during World War I, because of prejudicial and discriminatory practices, and never quite recovered in popular esteem from that.

But Wells had courage and determination that is rare in persons, male or female, of any colour, of any time, to take on such a task as the exposition and combat of lynching in the South during the post-Civil War decades. Talking directly with governors and even a president, Wells made her voice heard, and it was a difficult hearing in a difficult time.

Even though some of the material in this book is redundant, this is an opportunity to read primary source material about the actions and reactions of a woman many of us know little about. Learning about Ida B. Wells in the first person puts you into the times in which she lived. There is no way a biography can give you the same experience. This is a book I would recommend to anyone wanting to understand this period of our history and the personalities--their strengths and limits--that dominated the crusades of those times. I like knowing about Wells' frailties as well as her strengths and the insights that she shared. And I like hearing her viewpoints about other leaders of her time. The three star ratings may say something about the readability of the book, but not about what you gain by staying the course.

This book was quite reduntant and hard to read. If you're looking on gaining knowledge on the general time period, if you just skim through it you'll be able to understand the basic gist of the clubs and organizations that were being created during Reconstruction in order to fight inequalities and most especially lynchings. My favorite part of the book was the chapter on her divided loyalties because she does bring into light her humanness and how hard it was to live as a woman with vision but also with a desire to have a family. This brings a lot of insight into how hard it must have been to stand up against oppression during these times.

Although Ida B. Wells is a long repetitive book, it offers a good incite on an African American Woman's perspective of the time period. The book offers a lot of knowledge about the different anti-lynching and anti- segregation movements that were being made around the world and around the United States, but mostly focusing in Chicago. The downside of the book is although written by Wells, you do not get a good sense of her personal life. It would have been great to learn what made her tick, and more about her family life. Overall the book is a bit hard to read and to get through, but the information that you get out of the book is very valuable.

The historical merit of Ida Wells' story is profound: here we have a history of African Americans written from the perspective of a fellow A.A. at a time when black history was otherwise sadly neglected. This book provides information about the foundation of A.A. activist groups, such as the NAACP from the perspective of an insider. The events of Wells' life coincide with other great A.A. figures, such as Frederick Douglass. She also provides a candid and heartfelt commentary on the injustices suffered by blacks in her time, most notably episodes of lynching. Truly and inspirational story of a very strong and very motivated woman.

In terms of readability, however, the book gets a little redundant and repetitive after the half-way point. The details of Wells' many meetings and interactions are sometimes hard to follow and...well,repetitive.

the book only took two days to get delivered. The book was in great shape and was packed with care.

Acct. of powerful, courageous, amazing womun. The passion gets lost in the details. Recommend reading a biography rather than this autobio.

I can't believe I'm just now learning about this woman. She was nothing short of amazing! I thoroughly enjoyed the book. There were times when I literally could not put it down (I fell asleep with the light on and the book next to me). I am so grateful the manuscript was preserved for posterity. Any knowledge of American history is incomplete without a study of Ida B. Wells-Barnett.

The autobiography of Ida B. Wells gives a firsthand experience into the life during the time of Gilded Age and the Progressive era. It is an eye opening story about the true injustices and the lynchings that get left out of many history books. Her fight for equality and justice extended overseas as well, in hopes to put pressure on American to change the way it was working. I found this book really enjoyable to read because of her ability to be humorous at some points as well as straight forward at others. I read this book for a History class and out of all the ones I read, this one was my favorite. Her life story and her commitment to change are inspiring.

Ida B. Wells' Crusade for Justice is an in depth look into her life long social struggles and strivings. It is obvious that she was a writer because this book is lengthy and wordy, and well it might just feel like its take a "life long" to read it. The book held my interest because it was in her own words, but it was a hard read.