Who Was Ida B. Wells?

Who Was . . . ? Series

by Sarah Fabiny

The story of how a girl born into slavery became an early leader in the civil rights movement and the most famous black female journalist in nineteenth-century America.

Born into slavery in 1862, Ida Bell Wells was freed as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Yet she could see just how unjust the world she was living in was. This drove her to become a journalist and activist. Throughout her life, she fought against prejudice and for equality for African Americans. Ida B. Wells would go on to co-own a newspaper, write several books, help cofound the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and fight for women's right to vote.

Genres: Biography, Nonfiction, History, Middle Grade, Biography Memoir, Childrens, Kids

112 pages, Hardcover

First published June 2, 2020

Reviews

[Bianca Tarkelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book because it has so much new things in it that I could learn. I like the end how it has a time line in all of the 2 books I have read so far. I recommend it if you like history it give you so much information about Ida B. wells. This is really good for school. She was a good writer,and a good speaker.She never gives up. Ida b. wells will never give up unless she cant work if she is sick and cant get up out of bed. and she is now dead. I wish I could talk to her and tell her that she is brave,smart,loving, and caring. So if you do read this book please let me know if you like it or not and your feelings and emotion it will make my day.

[Dest · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my daughter because we knew a few basics about Wells (e.g. she was a journalist and an activist for women's suffrage) but wanted to learn more. Admittedly, at 6yo, my kid is a little young to learn about lynching (which Wells wrote about extensively in order to document the atrocities), but she really latched on to the idea that Wells was fighting for the rights of Black people *way before* the Civil Rights Movement. Ida B. Wells was active from the 1890s until her death in 1931, so she lived through the broken promise of Reconstruction and the pain of Jim Crow. She saw women get the right to vote, but she didn't see the end of legal segregation.

I also appreciated that this book called attention to how some white women suffragists were openly racist. They did not want the women's suffrage movement to include Black women like Wells. This opened up a conversation about intersectional feminism (though that phrase doesn't appear in the book).

[Ayla Stierwalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

You should also reads Emaliyah review of this story.

This is a good book we used it for history lessons, I really like her story she is 100% amazing. I wish that she could still be alive today. Ida B. Wells was a writer, a teacher, activist, mother, and a fighter. She was one of the first of so many things. She is so far one of the most important, amazing person who ever lived. I know she wasn't perfect, but she made a huge impact on the world and she didn't get to see any of it. I would highly recommend this book to just read as an enjoyment or to learn about her. We need more people like her she didn't let anything get in her way.......... NO matter what even when she felt that what she was doing... wasn't doing nothing.

[ADDY✨🤭 · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review in emojis: 🤯🤯🤯🤯😍😍😢😢😭😭😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😱😧🥺😍😍😍😍🙂😱😭🤯🤯❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️🍭❤️❤️❤️

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a woman! As a journalist she opened the eyes of many to injustice, especially lynching.

[Susan Glisson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love her!

[Janete on hiatus due health issues · Rating 4 out of 5]

4,5 stars. I didn't know this important woman.

SYNOPSIS: "The story of how a girl born into slavery became an early leader in the civil rights movement and the most famous black female journalist in nineteenth-century America.

Born into slavery in 1862, Ida Bell Wells was freed as a result of the Emancipation Proclamation in 1865. Yet she could see just how unjust the world she was living in was. This drove her to become a journalist and activist. Throughout her life, she fought against prejudice and for equality for African Americans. Ida B. Wells would go on to co-own a newspaper, write several books, help cofound the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), and fight for women's right to vote."

[Candance Doerr-Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very informative. I remember hearing about Ida B Wells in college but was intrigued to learn more after reading the Stamped Remix by Jason Reynolds. She was an early civil rights activist (Long before Rosa Parks did Ida refuse to give up her seat on the train). Wells wrote several newspaper articles and pamphlets deploring the practice of lynching.

She also was a strong voice in the woman’s suffrage movement and refused to walk at the back of the parade as requested by the white suffragettes.

If I ever get more into biographies, Wells’ is one I’d like to read.

Used (2) - library

[Emaliyah Stierwalt · Rating 5 out of 5]

What I thought about the book was that Ida B. Wells she was a brave women, she was a writer. She would write about lynching black men or would go speak to blacks and whites in England. I read the book for a class assignment and I really enjoyed reading the book and how Ida b. well was part of the women suffrage and the whites told them to walk separate from them because of there skin. I would recommend the book because there is a lot of interesting fact's about Ida and how busy she was. It is a pretty easy read but fun to read.

[Dan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ida was one busy lady all of her life. Her parents died early in her life and she raised her siblings in their stead. She worked as a school teacher to help support the family. She would later become a reporter, editor and writer of various articles on lynching in the south. She was a founding member of the NAACP as well as several other organizations including a shelter for men in Chicago. This was a very interesting book and worth while to read to understand her contributions to our society.

[Alivia Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

the book was Ida B. Wells she was a brave women, her main thing that she did was being a journalist She would write about lynching and how different colored people should have the same rights as the white people. She also wrote about women's rights to vote. Not a lot of people did not recognized lintel the 1950's and 1960's after the civil war. I really recommend this book for learning about history.

[Victoria B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this to be highly informative. I believe that Wells is probably underrepresented as a leader in Black rights (I know that she was not included in my public school education - at least, not in a depth that is equal to her accomplishments...journalist is about the extent of most mentions I've seen).

[DC · Rating 4 out of 5]

First one in this series that I've read - read it to my padawan. Ida B. Wells was a total badass and amazing antiracist activist. I'm glad to have learned a bit more about her and that my kid feels like he knows "all about her" now (haha). Seems like a solid series and we'll keep reading them as he likes illustrated non-fiction a lot.

[Emily Bender · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick read and I loved learning about her. While most of the Who Was? books are aimed towards younger children, (1st-3rd grades in my opinion) this book feels like it has some heavy subject matters like lynching. It goes into a little bit of detail, so I would recommend to older kids (4th-6th.) The only downside is that the text is clearly meant for the younger groups.

[Lisa Huninghake · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple and direct, Ida’s life and accomplishments are well-documented. In a format for kids, Sarah Fabiny does an excellent job of narrating the story of Ida B. Wells. My students love this series and will read every book they can lay their hands on!

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

While on a trip to Kentucky I kept hearing and seeing Ida B. Wells Name and I swore I knew her name and story... Well, instead I downloaded an audiobook and learned more. This was very informative! Thank you for this series!

[Tatianna Spencer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had heard of Ida B. Wells before but never read more than a few paragraphs about her. I am glad to know more about her and her important work. She was an activist, a journalist covering stories about lynchings, and so much more. This book makes me want to read her autobiography.

[Shannon Shepherd · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the “Who Was” series, but this one was especially good because of the genuine heroine portrayed through Ida’s life story: creative, assertive, and fearless - she was called to activism and used her voice to make America better; she should be celebrated as one of our greats!

[Syvehlla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for my young kids. Simple, easy to understand. 😊

[Gideon · Rating 5 out of 5]

She worked at a lot of Black newspapers, and was an author.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great for a quick but informative read about an historical person.

[Rianna *Hermione* B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this after doing a mini bio

[Victoria Gisondi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Learned something new

[Karthika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Far ahead of her time. Reading about lynching made me shudder. Reminded me of the recent George Floyd incident.

[Barbra T · Rating 5 out of 5]

Why did I know nothing about Ida B. Wells?

[Elina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Umm nice book

[K Morlando · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative children's book, we enjoyed learning about this

[Jennybeast · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ida B. Wells was a an amazing person, and this is a solid little biography about her.

[Paul Stout · Rating 4 out of 5]

Amazing woman who changed the world.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very interesting. Good read for Black History month.