Black Woman Reformer: Ida B. Wells, Lynching, and Transatlantic Activism

221 Pages·2015·1.112 MB·English

by  Sarah Silkey

BlacK
woman
rE formEr
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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
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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
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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
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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