Ida B. Wells Refused to Give Up Her Seat

In 1883 Ida. B. Wells boarded on a train and sat, as she usually did, in the ladies’ coach car. The conductor of this train came by to check tickets and asked if she would move to the second- class car. Ida refused as she had paid for her ticket and had sat in the ladies’ coach before. The conductor decided to attempt to force her out of the coach and attempted to drag her, however Ida held strong and he was unable to move her himself. He found help and he and another man dragged Ida out of the coach car. As if this wasn’t awful enough in itself, the other passengers began to applaud these men. Ida sued the railroad companies, “Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad and was initially awarded $500 damage” (PBS). The Civil Rights Act of 1875 allowed her to sue and win. Unfortunately this ruling was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court. After this she began to write about race and politics in the south for black newspapers and did this while continuing her work as a teacher. She was eventually fired due to her being an outspoken critic of segregation, “In 1891 she was dismissed from the Memphis school system for a strong article she wrote pointing out unequal funding of the Black schools by the board of education” (Patti Carr). Ida continued to write and be a voice for others. She was an activist and spent the rest of her life fighting for civil rights.


Quick Note:

This is the quickest overview and doesn’t even scratch the surface of Ida’s life. She was a courageous woman who knew she had value because she was human. She fought against racism and sought to make a better world for others. If you’d like to know more I have provided resources which offer much more insight to this wonderful woman. If you’d like me to write more on her please comment below and I will be more than happy to do more research.


Thank you all for your continuous support.

Allie


Bibliography:

“Reconstruction: Ida B. Wells - Pioneer of Civil Rights.” PBS LearningMedia. PBS LearningMedia, July 20, 2021. https://rmpbs.pbslearningmedia.org/resource/reconstruction-ida-wells/reconstruction-ida-b-wells-pioneer-of-civil-rights/.

“Ida B. Wells (U.S. National Park Service).” National Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior. Accessed April 26, 2023. https://www.nps.gov/people/idabwells.htm.

Patti Carr Black / February 2001. “Ida B. Wells: A Courageous Voice for Civil Rights.” Ida B. Wells: A Courageous Voice for Civil Rights - 2001-02. Accessed April 26, 2023. https://mshistorynow.mdah.ms.gov/issue/ida-b-wells-a-courageous-voice-for-civil-rights.