Ida B. Wells: A Chicago Stories Special (2021)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ida B. Wells: A Chicago Stories Special is a documentary film which premiered on US television (WTTW) in 2021.

 

This is, as the title says, a biopic of Ida B. Wells; an African American woman who was born in the south and who lived for most of her life in the north.

 

Ida was born as a slave in 1862. After the end of the civil war, when she was free, she went to school in Memphis (Tennessee) to learn how to read and write.

 

When she was 16, her father and mother were killed by an outbreak of yellow fever. Ida got a job as a school teacher, even though she was very young.

 

For a while, she worked as a school teacher to support herself and her sisters and brothers. Later, she became a journalist and a civil rights activist. Today, she is regarded as one of the most important members of the early movement for civil rights in the US.

 

This film covers her personal and public life from the beginning in 1862 to the end in 1931.

 

Here is some basic information about this film:

 

** Writer and producer: Stacy Robinson

** Narrator: Anthony Fleming III

** The voice of Ida B. Wells: Shanesia Davis

** Available on the PBS website

** Available on YouTube

** Language: English

** Subtitles: English

** Run time: 59 minutes

 

Several persons are interviewed in the film. Here are the names of the participants (in alphabetical order):

 

** Charles Branham - historian

** Dan Duster – great-grandson of Ida B. Wells

** Michelle Duster – great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells

** Nikole Hannah-Jones – journalist - New York Times Magazine

** Joan Johnson - historian

** Daphene McFerren – The Benjamin L. Hooks Institute for Social Change, the University of Memphis

** Lori Osborne – Frances Willard House Museum and Archives at the Center for Women’s History and Leadership

** Christopher Reed – historian

** Otis Sanford – Department of Journalism, University of Memphis

 

Archive footage is used between the talking heads. Archive footage is used to support and supplement the statements made by the participants. Archive footage is used when the narrator is speaking.

 

As stated above, this film covers the personal and public life of Ida B. Wells from the beginning to the end.

 

The film does this by focusing on six episodes which are important moments in Ida's life and her campaign for civil rights.

 

Ida had a passion for justice. She was opposed to racial discrimination and segregation.

 

She wanted equality, freedom and justice for all. But her crusade for civil rights was up against powerful forces and institutions in American society.

 

Episode # 1

In 1883, Ida was riding on a train in Tennessee. She took a train from home to work. She was seated in a carriage reserved for women. She had a ticket for this carriage.

 

When the conductor saw her sitting in this carriage, he told her to move another carriage. He said this carriage was reserved for white women. She refused to move. When he tried to force her to move, she resisted.

 

The conductor had to get assistance from two colleagues. It took three conductors to drag her from her seat. When the train stopped, she was kicked off the train.

 

Most people in her position would be angry, but decide that they could not do anything about it. But Ida was not like most people. She could not let it go. She decided to sue the railroad company.

 

When the case was tried in a court of law, she won. The judge declared that the railroad staff had violated her rights and ordered the company to pay a compensation of 500 dollars (which was a huge sum at that time).

 

But the company refused to accept this verdict. The company appealed and when the case was tried in a higher court, the first ruling was overturned.

 

While Ida eventually lost her case, she did make a mark and the leaders of the railroad company learned that not all passengers were prepared to accept a policy of racial segregation on public transport.

 

This story is quite similar to the famous story of Rosa Parks who refused to give up her seat on a public bus in Montgomery, Alabama. When was this? In 1955. Ida refused to give up her seat in 1883!

 

Rosa Parks was not even born when Ida did the same thing. But the story of Rosa Parks in 1955 is much better known than the story of Ida B. Wells in 1883.

 

This episode made a huge impression on Ida. It showed her that the law was not on her side. The law supported white power and white privilege. According to the law, she and other African Americans were second-class citizens.

 

She realized that the law was wrong. The law had to be changed, and she was going to everything she could to make this happen. From this moment, she became a journalist and a civil rights activist.

 

Episode # 2

In 1892, three African American men were lynched by a mob of white people at a railroad yard just outside of Memphis.

 

It was a horrible event. For Ida, it was also a personal event. One of the three men was one of her friends.

 

In the black press, Ida denounced the mob of white men who had lynched the three African American men. The victims had the right to due process. They had the right to be tried in a court of law. They could not be convicted, unless there was some real evidence against them. They could not be punished, unless they were found guilty in a court of law. But this did not happen.

 

At that time, lynching was a serious problem in the US. Mainly in the south, but occasionally also in the north.

 

When Ida began to study this and other cases of lynching, she discovered that the victims in many cases seemed to be completely innocent. If any evidence was mentioned, it was often of dubious quality.

 

Whenever a mob of white men took the law in their own hands and arranged a lynching, they violated the law which says that every person in the US is entitled to due process.

 

The leaders of the lynching mob were usually well-known. But they were never charged with a crime. Apparently, police officers and public prosecutors did not regard lynching as a crime.

 

Ida began a one-woman crusade against lynching in the United States. She addressed the topic in articles in the black press. Since she was in the south, she did not use her real name. She used a nom de plume: Iola.

 

The leaders of the white community in Memphis were furious when they read what Ida had written about the lynching of the three African American men.

 

A mob of white people entered the office where her newspaper was printed. It was fortunate that no one was there at the time. Had anyone been present, they would probably have been killed. 

 

A white editor suggested that the man who had condemned the lynching should be tortured and executed in public. He thought the writer was a man. He could not imagine it was a woman.

 

Ida realized she could no longer live in Memphis. She left the south and moved to the north. She settled down in Chicago, Illinois. From now on, she would use her real name when writing about civil rights.

 

Episode # 3

In 1893, the World’s Columbian Exposition was held in Chicago. The purpose of the exposition was to celebrate 500 years of American history since Columbus discovered America.

 

At that time, many people regarded Columbus as a great man and believed he had discovered America.

 

The exposition had been planned for the year 1892, because this was 500 years after Columbus came to the Caribbean islands, but preparations for the exposition took longer than expected, so the exposition was delayed until 1893.

 

The exposition was supposed to show all important aspects of American society, but when Ida visited the exposition, she was upset to discover that the role of African Americans was not mentioned anywhere.

 

Together with Frederick Douglass and her future husband Ferdinand Barnett, she wrote a pamphlet about the topic which she distributed to many visitors at the exhibition:

 

The Reason Why 

The Colored American 

Is not in the World’s Columbian Exposition

 

She wanted American citizens as well as foreign citizens to know the basic facts about this topic. The history of slavery. The oppression of black people in the US. The history of abolition. The American civil war, which was supposed to end slavery and to allow African Americans to become free citizens with equal rights.

 

Sadly, the hopes for social, political and economic equality had not come true. African Americans were victims of racial discrimination and segregation, not only in the south but also in the north.

 

Episode # 4

In 1906, three African American men were lynched by a mob of white people in Springfield, Ohio. This was another horrible crime, another violation of the law.

 

Ida wrote about this case in the black press. She talked about this case in public speeches across the nation.

 

Her activity was noted across the nation. Some people loved her for what she was doing, while other people hated her for what she was doing.

 

Speaking out against discrimination and segregation could be dangerous. She offended powerful people across the nation.

 

Looking back, it is a wonder that she was able to survive. Many other people who offended the white establishment suffered a sudden death. But Ida lived to tell her story. She died a natural death in 1931.

 

Episode # 5

In 1909, the National Organization for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) was founded. Ida was present at the founding meeting.

 

Many members of the new organization supported her campaign for civil rights, but some members felt that she was too radical. They felt that she was too impatient and unwilling to compromise.

 

Ida was one of the founding members of the new organization, but when the board of directors was chosen, she was left out and after a while she was pushed out of the organization.

 

The African American community could not speak with one voice. There were at least three groups:

 

** A radical group represented by Ida B. Wells

 

** A moderate group represented by W. E. B. Du Bois

 

** A conservative group represented by Booker T. Washington

 

The first two groups were inside the NAACP when it was founded, but after a while the radical group was pushed out. The moderate group took control. The third group was never involved with the NAACP.

 

Booker T. Washington believed it was unwise to offend the white establishment. This is why his policy is described as accommodationist.

 

Episode # 6

In 1919, American women organized a grand parade in Washington, DC. The women demanded the vote. 

 

They had a simple question:

 

If America is the land of freedom, why are American women not allowed to vote?

 

The women’s movement was dominated by white women from the middle class. Some came from the north, while others came from the south.

 

But not all were white. Women of color also wanted the vote. Many women of the north supported them, while many women of the south wanted to exclude them.

 

Ida campaigned for civil rights. She wanted equality and justice for all. She protested against lynching. But she had many topics on her agenda. She also wanted the female vote. For all women. Not only for white women but also for women of color.

 

Ida was a member of a delegation from Illinois. When the delegates from Illinois arrived in the capital, Ida was told that she could not walk in the front with her fellow delegates from Illinois.

 

Why not?

 

Because she was not white! Southern women would be upset to see an African American woman walking among white women in the front of the parade.

 

Ida was welcome to join the parade, but she was told to walk at the end of the parade.

 

Did she obey? Was she willing to compromise in order to accommodate some white women from the south? 

 

The answer is no!

 

She refused to obey. She refused to compromise. Since she had travelled to Washington with the delegates from Illinois, she decided to walk with them. She refused to be pushed to the back of the parade just because some people felt she had the wrong color.

 

Conclusion

What do reviewers say about this film? This question is not easy to answer.

 

The film is listed on IMDb, but there is no rating. There are no user reviews.

 

The film is not available on Amazon. There is no rating. There are no customer reviews.

 

What do I think about it? This is, in my opinion, an important film about an important topic.

 

The story of Ida B. Wells and her campaign for civil rights in the US deserves to be told, and in this film, it is done very well.

 

** The script is well-written

** The participants are well-chosen

** The archive footage is informative

 

As far as I can see, this film is an ABC product:

 

** Accurate

** Balanced

** Comprehensive

 

I want to go all the way to the top with this product. I think it deserves a rating of five stars (100 percent).

 

PS # 1. In 1895, Ida married Ferdinand Barnett (1852-1936); a lawyer who had two children from a previous marriage. Ida and Ferdinand had four children:

 

** Charles A. Barnett (1896-1957)

** Herman K. Barnett (1897-1975)

** Ida B. Barnett, Jr. (1901-1988)

** Alfreda Barnett (married name Duster) (1904-1983)

 

PS # 2. For many years, several members of the US Congress tried to pass an anti-lynching law. The first attempt was in 1900. It failed.

 

Since then, there were no less than 200 failed attempts to pass such a law.

 

But in the first months of 2022, an anti-lynching law was finally passed by both chambers. It was signed into law by President Joe Biden in March 2022.

 

REFERENCES

 

# 1. Books and Pamphlets by Ida B. Wells

 

Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases

(1892) (2018) (2020)

 

The Reason Why the Colored American is not in the World’s Columbian Exposition

(1893) (available online) (a PDF document)

 

The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States

(1895) (2021)

 

Mob Rule in New Orleans: Robert Charles and his Fight to Death, the Story of His Life, Burning Human Beings Alive, Other Lynching Statistics

(1900) (2015) (2021)

 

The Arkansas Race Riot (a manuscript)

(Northern Illinois University Digital Library)

(1920)

 

Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of Ida B. Wells edited by Alfreda M. Duster (the youngest daughter of Ida B. Wells) (1970)

 

# 2. Books about Ida B. Wells and US History

 

The Memphis Diary of Ida B. Wells edited by Miriam DeCosta-Willis (1995)

 

To Keep the Waters Troubled: The Life of Ida B. Wells by Linda O. McMurry (1999) (2000)

 

Lynching in America: A History in Documents edited by Christopher Waldrep (2006)

 

Encyclopedia of American Race Riots edited by Walter Rucker & James Upton (2 volumes, 936 pages) (2007)

 

The Jim Crow Encyclopedia edited by Nikki L. M. Brown & Barry M. Stentiford (2 volumes, 951 pages) (2008)

 

Ida: A Sword Among Lions - Ida B. Wells and the Campaign Against Lynching by Paula Giddings (2008) (2009)

 

To Tell the Truth Freely: The Life of Ida B. Wells by Mia Bay (2009) (2010)

 

Ida B. Wells: A Woman of Courage by Ruth A. Rouff (2010)

 

Lynching and Spectacle: Witnessing Racial Violence in America, 1890-1940 by Amy Louise Wood (2011)

 

# 3. Film and Video

 

Ida B. Wells: A Passion for Justice

American Experience, PBS

Writer and producer: William Greaves

Run time = 54 minutes

1989 (available on YouTube)

 

The Black Press: Soldiers without Swords

Director: Stanley Nelson

Run time = 85 minutes

1999 (available on YouTube)

 

Ida B. Wells: Crusader for Human Rights

Run time = 17 minutes

2017 (available via Amazon Prime Video)

 

Ask Geoffrey: When Ida B. Wells Met Frances Willard

WTTV (PBS) (7 minutes)

2 July 2020

 

Lynching Postcards: Token of a Great Day

Director: Christine Turner

Run time = 15 minutes

2021

 

Frederick Douglass: In Five Speeches

Director: Julia Marchesi

Distribution: HBO

Run time = 58 minutes

2022

 

# 4. Items available online

 

The Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture

(online since 2002)

(several items are relevant)

 

Lynching Sites Project (LSP) – Memphis

History: Ida B. Wells

(several items are listed under this heading)

 

Truth-Telling: Frances Willard and Ida B. Wells

Frances Willard House Museum and Archives

(about the conflict between Frances Willard of Evanston and Ida B. Wells of Chicago)

 

History of Lynching in America

NAACP

 

Lynching in America:

Confronting the Legacy of Racial Terror

Equal Justice Initiative

2017 (third edition)

 

David Smith, “Pain and terror: America’s history of racism - Ida B. Wells: the unsung heroine of the civil rights movement,” The Guardian, 27 April 2018

 

*****

Ida B. Wells:

A Chicago Stories Special

(WTTW) (2021)

 

*****

 Ida B. Wells

(1862-1931)

African American activist and author

*****

Southern Horrors:

Lynch Law in All Its Phases

by Ida B. Wells

(1892)

 

*****