Topeka State Ledger June 7, 1895

Ida Wells was the most famous black female activist of the late 1800s and early 1900s.  The lynching of three African American men in Memphis, Tennessee–as their store threatened the economic success of a white competitor–prompted this young journalist to investigate, write and lecture about, and, in general, campaign against lynching despite threats to her life. In particular, she challenged the “rape myth,” arguing that lynching was not prompted by black males’ attacking white women.