The Balboa Explorer Times

Black History Month

By: Keira Yeck and Norah Abbas

Many people celebrate Black History Month for a variety of reasons. It celebrates the history of African Americans, and celebrates its activism and achievements around the world. Additionally, we celebrate to focus the attention on the contributions of African Americans. However, one person in particular made a big difference: Ida B. Wells-Barnett. 

Ida B.Wells-Barnett was a journalist, defender of women, and an early civil rights movement leader. She was born in 1862, in Holy Springs, Mississippi. She was born during the Civil War, when African Americans fought to remove slavery. However, in 1865, her parents, Elizabeth Warrenton Wells and James Wells were isolated from slavery because of the Emancipation Proclamation. Her parents were hopeful for the future for African Americans and taught her the value of education for children. Her father was a trustee at Rust College, where Wells-Barnett attended until 1880, and dropped out after passing a teacher exam. In the fall of 1878, her parents passed away due to the yellow fever epidemic. This event caused her to become a primary caretaker at the age of 16 to care for her siblings. Eventually, she became a school teacher to care for her family and moved to Memphis to work. Unfortunately, in 1886 when she was 24 she lost her job as a teacher when she complained about the conditions in Memphis schools. This gave her the motive to be a journalist. She had written a few articles for newspapers and decided to turn into a journalist full time. She started becoming an activist in 1884, when she refused to give up her seat on a train car, which created a successful lawsuit.

All in all, Ida B. Wells-Barnett was an extraordinary human being, who fought for what was right. 

Sources: https://www.women`r vshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/ida-b-wells-barnett https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ida-B-Wells-Barnett.