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It 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. Wells

I had an instinctive feeling that the people who have little or no school training should have something coming into their homes weekly which dealt with their problems in a simple, helpful way… so I wrote in a plain, common-sense way on the things that concerned our people.
IDA B. WELLS

Come Feeling Home Instinctive Little People Schoo Something Training Weekly
There must always be a remedy for wrong and injustice if we only know how to find it.
IDA B. WELLS

Always Find Injustice Know Remedy Wrong
The 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

Assault Been Country Defense Gum Only Self Time Used
Our 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. WELLS

Brutal Country Creaturem Hour Crime Fury Insane Lynching Mob National Our Outburst Sudden Uncontrol Unspeakable
In fact, for all kinds of offenses – and, for no offenses – from murders to misdemeanors, men and women are put to death without judge or jury; so that, although the political excuse was no longer necessary, the wholesale murder of human beings went on just the same.
IDA B. WELLS

All Death Fact Judge Jury Kind Men Misdemeanors Murder Offense Put Without Women
Those who commit the murders write the reports.
IDA B. WELLS

Commit Murder Report Write
White men lynch the offending Afro-American, not because he is a despoiler of virtue, but because he succumbs to the smiles of white women.
IDA B. WELLS

Country Despoiler Lynch Men Offend Smile Succumb Virtue White Women
Virtue knows no color line.
IDA B. WELLS

Color Know Line No One Liner Virtue
The appetite grows for what it feeds on.
IDA B. WELLS

Appetite Feed Grow One
The miscegenation laws of the South only operate against the legitimate union of the races; they leave the white man free to seduce all the colored girls he can, but it is death to the colored man who yields to the force and advances of a similar attraction in white women.
IDA B. WELLS

Against Attract Free Law Leave Legitimate Man Miscegenation Only Operate Race Seduce South Union White Women
Lynching is color line murder.
IDA B. WELLS

Color Line Lynching Murde
Thus lynch law held sway in the far West until civilization spread into the Territories and the orderly processes of law took its place.
IDA B. WELLS

Held Law Lynch Orderly Place Process Spread Sway Territories Took Until West
The doors of churches, hotels, concert halls and reading rooms are alike closed against the Negro as a man, but every place is open to him as a servant.
IDA B. WELLS

Against Alike Church Close Concert Country Door Hall Hotel Open People Person Place Raedm Room Servant
The Afro-American is not a bestial race.
IDA B. WELLS

Bestial Country Race
I came home every Friday afternoon, riding the six miles on the back of a big mule. I spent Saturday and Sunday washing and ironing and cooking for the children and went back to my country school on Sunday afternoon.
IDA B. WELLS

Afternoon Back Big Came Every Friday Home Mile Mothing Mule
In 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. WELLS

Country Freedom Frequency Kept People Scourging Severity Slave Submissive Time

It 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.

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It 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.

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