Catherine Meeks - Passionate for Justice: Ida B. Wells as Prophet for Our Time

Copyright 2019 by Catherine Meeks and Nibs Stroupe

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the written permission of the publisher.

Unless otherwise noted, the Scripture quotations contained herein are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the U.S.A. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Cover photo courtesy of the University of Chicago Library, Special Collections Research Center. Digital Reproduction: Existing Archival Photographic Collection (apf1-08641 Ida B. Wells Formal #5).

Cover design by Marc Whitaker, MTWdesign
Typeset by Rose Design

A record of this book is available from the Library of Congress.

ISBN-13: 978-1-64065-160-9 (pbk.)
ISBN-13: 978-1-64065-161-6 (ebook)
ISBN-13: 978-1-64065-294-1 (audiobook)

The story of America has no finer an example of perseverance, brilliance, and accomplishment than Ida B. Wells. She valiantly navigated a path of courage and strength and trumpeted the call to justice and equality, setting an example that continues to resonate for me and millions of others. Born into slavery in Mississippi, the state where I was raised, she saw the promise of Reconstruction and survived the scourge of white supremacy that followed. Despite a nation that ignored her humanity and shunned her potential, she understood that her capacity stretched deeper and wider than the definitions of white supremacy and of patriarchy. Like Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, she crafted her own narrative, and in so doing became a clarion for our souls deepest ambitionsjustice.

A journalist, scholar, and activist, she wove together the ability to investigate and animate issues that robbed blacks of full participation in the citizenship guaranteed by the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments. In 1892, when white men lynched her good friend Tom Moss in Memphis, she confronted the racism that sought to legitimize murder by vigilantes. She decried lynching and, moreover, demanded action from leaders who failed to protect their citizens. So affecting were her calls to action, her newspaper offices in Memphis were blown up. Though exiled from the South for more than twenty years, Wells became emboldened rather than silenced by the attack. The tenacity, ferocity, and dedication to justice of this former slave girl from rural Mississippi challenged the moral core of America, and her strategic vision for change transformed the lives of millions.

From co-founding the NAACP to producing a compendium of investigations that shocked the conscience of leaders, she redefined what leadership could and should look like. In particular, she furthered the role of women in the fight for justice, and she led without apology in an era when the words of women were not expected to be heard and where black women were summarily dismissed. Ida B. Wells refused to be dismissed.

Because of the witness and work of Ida Wells and those she girded for the fight, we as a nation have made critical progress. Yet, we find ourselves at a crucial turning point in our history, when the forces that sought to silence her and to reestablish oppression seem to gain strength each day. From the tragedy of family separations to the glib invocation of nativism, those charged with maintaining our progress have instead reignited the most infernal instincts of the past. In these moments, Passionate for Justice serves as a welcome and timely reminder of power of witness in our nations history. I am grateful to Nibs Stroupe and Catherine Meeks for bringing forth this testimony to the life and ministry of Ida Wells. In this work, they reflect upon the power of Wellss life, as well as the dynamic of race and gender that sought to limit her and continues to constrict access into the present age.

I have been awed by Reverend Stroupe during his long and effective ministry at multicultural Oakhurst Presbyterian Church, where he met scripture with action. Together, with the scholarship and insight of Dr. Meeks, they have produced this critical work to help revive the heroism of Ida Wells, not only restoring our understanding of her unflinching example but reminding each of us to find our place in the perennial fight for justice. Through their exposition, we rediscover a model for diminishing those forces of repression and oppression in our individual and communal lives. In her honor, we are called to acknowledge the depth of those oppressive powers in our time, and to be like Wellsto seek a new way of liberty and justice for all.

Ida Wells confronted the evils of her time with a determination to compel America to live up to its highest ideals. Her example continues to guide the work of millions, including my own, as we in our own ways work to reaffirm the humanity of all and the potential for more. I applaud Nibs and Catherine for their efforts, a robust inquiry that produced such a transformative statement about the meaning of Wellss life for the twenty-first century. They honor the life of Ida B. Wells, a life carved out of the hardscrabble ground of slavery, white supremacy and oppression of women, especially black women. In Passionate for Justice, we find a compass that points us to the future, where we can each give voice and action to justice, equity, and life-giving community. Ida Wells would have had it no other way.

Stacey Abrams

2018 Democratic Nominee for Governor of Georgia

Founder of Fair Fight Action

Founder of Fair Count

New York Times Bestselling Author of Lead from the Outside

An Introduction to Ida B. Wells
from Her Great-Granddaughter

My great-grandmother Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (aka Ida B. Wells) spent almost fifty years of her life fighting for equality and justice during a period of history that spanned from the Civil War to the Great Depression. Through the writing of articles and pamphlets, plus delivering hundreds of speeches across the United States and the United Kingdom, she chronicled in great detail the atrocities and frequency of lynching that were used to terrorize the African American community. She co-founded and worked with several civil rights organizations that focused on both racial, gender, and economic equity. Not only did she work with some of the most well-known leaders of her time, but also interacted with the less fortunate on a personal level. She visited prisoners, worked as a probation officer, and created housing for Southern migrants.

Regardless of the personal sacrifice that was involved in her work, she was focused on fighting for the betterment of a country even though, as an African American and a woman, she faced discrimination on multiple fronts. She lived through some of the more violent and lawless times in American history. She put herself in dangerous situations in order to investigate the details of devastating riots. And because of her revealing the truth, calling out exact names of people, and encouraging disenfranchised people to fight back against the establishment, her own life was threatened. Despite the danger, criticism, and marginalization she faced, she somehow drew on a higher power and an inner strength to keep goingmany times alone.