Somebody must show that the Afro-American race is more sinned against than sinning, and it seems to have fallen upon me to do so.
IDA B. WELLSSomebody must show that the Afro-American race is more sinned against than sinning, and it seems to have fallen upon me to do so.
IDA B. WELLSBrave men do not gather by thousands to torture and murder a single individual, so gagged and bound he cannot make even feeble resistance or defense.
IDA B. WELLSI am only a mouthpiece through which to tell the story of lynching and I have told it so often that I know it by heart. I do not have to embellish; it makes its own way.
IDA B. WELLSThe nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the crowd.
IDA B. WELLSThe South is brutalized to a degree not realized by its own inhabitants, and the very foundation of government, law and order, are imperilled.
IDA B. WELLSIn slave times the Negro was kept subservient and submissive by the frequency and severity of the scourging, but, with freedom, a new system of intimidation came into vogue; the Negro was not only whipped and scourged; he was killed.
IDA B. WELLSOne had better die fighting against injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap.
IDA B. WELLSThere is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms.
IDA B. WELLSThe negro has suffered far more from the commission of this crime against the women of his race by white men than the white race has ever suffered through his crimes.
IDA B. WELLSIt is extremely rough to follow through with my goals, but I felt a responsibility to show the world what the African Americans are facing through this rough patch.
IDA B. WELLSThe South resented giving the Afro-American his freedom, the ballot box and the Civil Rights Law.
IDA B. WELLSA Winchester rifle should have a place of honor in every black home.
IDA B. WELLSOur country’s national crime is lynching. It is not the creature of an hour, the sudden outburst of uncontrolled fury, or the unspeakable brutality of an insane mob.
IDA B. WELLSThe way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.
IDA B. WELLSThe people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.
IDA B. WELLSThe only times an Afro-American who was assaulted got away has been when he had a gun and used it in self-defense.
IDA B. WELLS