They Say: Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race by James West - Book Report/Review Example

 Studies in Modern Civilization “They Say”: Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race by James West Introduction Between 1880 and 1930, more than 3,000 African Americans were hanged, tortured and burned by the White Southern mobs, activities that were not lightly taken by Ida B. Wells. Ida B. Wells was a pioneer feminist and civil rights icon who was also a news editor, sociologists and a strong leader in the civil rights movements. Through her documentation of lynching in the United States, she was able to show that the lynching was used as technique to punish and control the African Americans who were competing with the blacks. In his book ‘They Say’, James West indicates the passionate life of Ida for the first thirty years and the great struggle over the implications of race during the post emancipation period in America. This paper seeks to critically examine how African American elites and the working class defined strategies of empowerment, agency and citizenship in post emancipation America as well as the way Ida dealt with complex issues of race, gender, class and sexuality within the systems of domination. One of the notable events that triggered the efforts of Ida to campaign for the empowerment of African American occurred in 1884. During this time, a conductor ordered to give up her seat in the first class ladies car. Despite the Civil Rights Act of 1875, that banned racial discrimination in public accommodations, Ida was dragged out of the car. On her effort to seek justice, Ida hired an Africa American attorney to sue the railroad. However, she was not successful and this made other companies in the transport industry to continue segregating their African American passengers. According to James West, Wells ensured that the voice of the African American was heard by writing an article in the newspaper titled as Living Way that covered on her treatment in the train. As one of the renowned African American elite following her attendance of summer sessions at Fisk University whose graduates were highly respected in the black community, Wells used strong political opinions that were provocative in nature. Her strong views on women’s rights were not supported by the White. In post emancipation America, African American citizenship was still a major issue that led to the Wells took a long time to fight for. Despite the ending of the slavery by Abraham Lincoln, the then US president, the African Americans did not automatically gained citizenship. James West indicates that despite the importance of commitment to defending black citizenship during the reconstruction era, the disparities in the form of wealth, landholding, education and political power among the citizens created more complications. On her part, Wells fought for legal equality and adequate legislations that could make equal citizens to be equal by removing the inequalities that existed during that time. Notable event that indicated the extent to which the African American citizens were discriminated on the bases of their race and economic activities happened in 1889. During this year, a friend of Wells who was known as Thomas Moss opened a grocery near Memphis city. Based on its remarkable performance, the grocery offered stiff competition to a grocery that was owned by a white business man just across the street. While Wells was in Mississippi the Thomas grocery was invaded by a white mob and the owner with other three black men were arrested and they were later killed while waiting for a trial. The racial discrimination that Wells experienced under the hands of the train conductors did not end just in the train but it was evident in the court systems. The Africa-American attorney that Wells hired after the incidence was paid off by the railroad in order to drop the case. According to the author of the book, this is an indication that the blacks were seen as people who valued wealth in expense of justice and race. Wells continued to seek justice through the use of a white attorney. Though she won the case at first, the railroad appealed through the Tennessee Supreme Court which reversed the ruling in 1887 even though the law was clear on the implications of racial discrimination in public transport. The case of racism is thus evident when Wells was order by the court to pay the costs of the litigation. One of the avenues through which James West Davidson in the book 'They Say': Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race used to fight racial discrimination were through her articles. For example, while she was teaching in an elementary school she was hired as the editor of the evening star. Additionally, she wrote articles touching on race issues in the Living Weekly newspaper an aspect has positive implication on her reputation. As a woman who could not tolerate the injustice that African American were undergoing in the post emancipation America, she led a strong anti-lynching campaign that made more than 6,000 blacks to leave Memphis while others left white-owned businesses1. This made her to be threatened by the white for hinting the truth on the increased lynching cases, an aspect that made her to purchase a gun to guarantee her security. Another event that Wells was involved in and which indicates the racial discrimination in post emancipation era was the lack of collaborating with the black people during the World Columbian exhibition in 1893. Despite the African-American life that was part of the exhibition, James West indicates that Wells together with other social reformers such as Frederick Douglass, Garland Penn and Barnet Ferdinand organized a boycott that included distributing of pamphlets indicating their dissatisfaction. Despite the emancipation of slaves, the freed people as they were now referred to did not have equal rights as their white counterparts. According to the law as it was stipulated by the president, the freed slaves were supposed to live equal life as the white. However, Wells note that the white were focused at removing anything that tended to be equal to the African American community. For example, strict rules were imposed on the black with the consequence of death if they broke the rules. Through the investigative journalism, Wells wrote and documented that portrayed the lynching that targeted the African American men. According to Wells, the sexual discrimination that resulted to lynching of the African men were due to failure to pay debts, failure to give way to the white, being drunk in the public and competing with the white in the area of business activities. The white claimed that black men were abusing white women a myth that she denied through her articles. She argued that there was always a consensus between white women and black men where relationship existed. As a way of improving the knowledge on African American women groups within New York, Wells held forums in various locations. This also made her to be threatened by the white mobs making her to vacate to Chicago. However, the Southern injustices and sexual discrimination that black men underwent could not deter her from her anti-lynching campaign even in her new residence. Conclusion Based on the above discussion, it is clear that as indicated by James West Davidson in the book "They Say," Wells was a great achiever who could go to any extent to liberate the African American community from the racial, sexual, and other forms of discrimination. Despite her threats from the white, she continued with her anti-lynching campaign in the United States. The book thus provides an eye opener on the experiences that the African American under the hands of the white even though the laws against racial discrimination were passed by the president. References James, D. 'They Say': Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race. New York: Oxford University Press, 2007. Read More