On lynchings

Alternate Titles

• Southern horrors.
• Red record.
• Mob rule in New Orleans.

Description

"Though the end of the Civil War brought legal emancipation to Blacks, their social oppression continued long afterward. The most virulent form of this ongoing persecution was the practice of lynching. During the 1880s and 1890s, more than one hundred African Americans per year were lynched, and in 1892 alone the toll of murdered men and women reached a peak of 161.". "In that awful year, Ida B. Wells (1862-1931), the editor of a small newspaper for Blacks in Memphis, Tennessee, raised one lone voice of protest, charging that White businessmen had instigated three local lynchings against their Black competitors. In retaliation, her editorial office was ransacked and she was forced to flee the South and move to New York City.". "So began a crusade against lynching that became the focus of Wells-Barnett's long, active, and very courageous life. In New York she published Southern Horrors, her first pamphlet on the subject. Later, after moving to Chicago and marrying lawyer Ferdinand Barnett, she brought out the pamphlets. A Red Record and Mob Rule in New Orleans. Anticipating possible accusations of distortion, she was careful to present factually accurate evidence and she deliberately relied on Southern White sources as well as statistics gathered by the Chicago Tribune." "All three of these documents are here collected. Wells-Barnett's work remains important to this day not only as a cry of protest against injustice but also as valuable historical documentation of terrible crimes that must never be forgotten."--BOOK JACKET.

First Sentence

The resurgence of scholarly interest in the long and productive career of Ida B.Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) is long overdue.

Subjects

Series Statement

• Classics in Black studies series

Other Editions

• On lynchingsHumanity Books2002-01-01
• On lynchingsArno Press1969-01-01
• On lynchingsAyer Co1987-01-01
• On LynchingsPaperbackAyer Company Publishers1990-08-01
• On lynchingsAyer Co.1991-01-01