Home » News » Ida B. Wells: newspaper editor who crusaded against lynchings

By John R. Vile, published on February 13, 2022

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James G. Blaine, public domain photo, available through the Library of Congress.

During Black History Month, the Free Speech Center salutes African-American newspaper editor Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) for marshaling her First Amendment freedom of the press to crusade against the scourge of lynch-mob killings of black people.

 

This new profile in the First Amendment Encyclopedia tells some of Wells’ story as a fierce and tireless advocate for civil rights as editor of the Memphis Free Speech newspaper.

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