Black Woman Reformer: Ida B. Wells, Lynching, and Transatlantic Activism PDF
Preview Black Woman Reformer: Ida B. Wells, Lynching, and Transatlantic Activism
BlacK woman rE formEr This page intentionally left blank B lacK woman r E fo r m E r Ida B. Wells, lynching, & transatlantic activism sarah l. silkEy The University of Georgia Press Athens & London Revised FINAL pages © 2015 by the University of Georgia Press Athens, Georgia 30602 www.ugapress.org All rights reserved Designed by Kaelin Chappell Broaddus Set in 11/13.5 Garamond Premier Pro by Kaelin Chappell Broaddus Printed and bound by Sheridan Books, Inc. The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources. Printed in the United States of America 15 16 17 18 19 c 5 4 3 2 1 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Silkey, Sarah L. Black woman reformer : Ida B. Wells, lynching, and transatlantic activism / Sarah L. Silkey. pages cm Includes bibliographical references and index. isbn 978-0-8203-4557-4 (hardcover : alk. paper) — isbn 978-0-8203-4692-2 (ebook) 1. Wells-Barnett, Ida B., 1862-1931—Travels. 2. African American women—Biography. 3. African American women civil rights workers—Biography. 4. African American women social reformers—Biography. 5. Lynching—United States—Foreign public opinion, British. 6. Civil rights workers—United States—Biography. 7. Social reformers—United States—Biography. 8. Public opinion—Great Britain—History—18th century. I. Title. II. Title: Ida B. Wells, lynching, and transatlantic activism. E185.97.W55S55 2015 323.092—dc23 [B] 2014024894 ISBN for digital edition: 978-0-8203-4692-2 British Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data available To every phoenix who ever dared to rise from the ashes This page intentionally left blank Contents 8 Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 Chapter 1 British Responses to American Lynching 6 Chapter 2 The Emergence of a Transatlantic Reformer 45 Chapter 3 The Struggle for Legitimacy 72 Chapter 4 Building a Transatlantic Debate on Lynching 93 Chapter 5 American Responses to British Protest 115 Chapter 6 A Transatlantic Legacy 138 Notes 151 Bibliography 181 Index 201 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments 8 A. A. Milne, author of Winnie-the-Pooh, wrote, “It’s hard to be brave when you’re only a Very Small Animal.” He was referring to Piglet, one of my favorite literary characters. The world is a very big place. Sometimes the unanticipated challenges we face in life make us feel small. Piglet is Very Small not only in stature but also in confidence. He is timid. He worries, frets, and scares easily. Through the trials he faces, Piglet gives voice to our fears and insecurities. Even so, as Benjamin Hoff argues in The Te of Piglet, Piglet is the only character in the Hundred Acre Wood who rises to the challenges that confront him; he discovers that he can be brave. I have taken inspiration from Piglet’s reluctant bravery whenever the challenges of this project seemed very large, even insur- mountable. During his trials, Piglet “only blinched inside,” according to Pooh, “and that’s the bravest way for a Very Small Animal not to blinch that there is.” In the process, Piglet is transformed. He becomes something greater than only a Very Small Animal; he embodied te—virtue in action. Long before Piglet was conceived in Milne’s imagination, Ida B. Wells em- bodied virtue in action. The challenges she faced must have felt insurmount- able at times, yet she persevered. If she ever “blinched,” she “only blinched inside.” I love Wells not only for her te but also for her humanity. Her quick temper, pride, vanity, and stubbornness made her life more difficult at times than it could have been if she had “learned her place” or “acted more like a lady.” But without these personality traits, she might never have believed that she belonged in the public sphere—that she could and should devote her life to reform. She accomplished great things not because she possessed some superhuman power but because she simply refused to settle or give up. I
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