The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells (Black Women Writers Series) [Paperback]

Ida B. Wells-Barnett (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0807070653 | ISBN-13: 978-0807070659 | Publication Date: October 31, 1995

Originally published in 1956, Pauli Murray tells the story of her grandparents, delving into the realities of slavery, survival, and miscegenation in the pre-Civil War/Reconstruction era in the South.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Wells (1862-1931), an African American journalist who led an antilynching crusade in the 1890s, was born into slavery, orphaned at 16 and worked as a teacher to support her younger siblings. DeCosta-Willis (co-editor of Erotique Noire/Black Erotica) carefully reproduces here, with informed commentary, the diary Wells kept from 1885 to '87, when she lived in boardinghouses and taught school while struggling to get her articles published. The entries provide a unique look at the life of an independent, unmarried African American woman coping with financial hardships, romantic entanglements, sexism and racism. In 1885, Wells was awarded damages after she sued a railroad company because a conductor tried to force her to sit in the "black only" section; the decision was reversed in 1887, prompting her lament "O God, is there no redress, no peace, no justice in this land for us?" Also included are entries from her 1893 and 1930 diaries, as well as some of Wells's newspaper articles. A substantial contribution to African American studies.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

DeCosta-Willis (African American studies, Univ. of Maryland-Baltimore County) has done a superb job of editing this remarkable document. Wells, the noted black journalist, author, and antilynching activist, kept a detailed personal diary while living in Memphis between 1885 and 1887. In it we see an articulate young woman coming to terms with her professional ambitions, her race, and her sexuality. Perhaps the most fascinating passages treat her relations with men and her often acerbic assessments of them. This volume also includes Wells's shorter 1893 travel diary and 1930 Chicago diary as well as selections from her published writing. A very important original source for anyone interested in African American and women's history.
Anthony O. Edmonds, Ball State Univ., Muncie, Ind.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: Beacon Press (October 31, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807070653
• ISBN-13: 978-0807070659
• Product Dimensions: 6.2 x 0.5 x 9.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12.3 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #677,246 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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