Southern Horrors Slides
Southern Horrors
Ida B. Wells and the Birth of Intersectional Activism
Undergraduate Black Studies Seminar
Seminar Objective
Students will analyze the intersectionality of race and gender in the late 19th-century anti-lynching movement, focusing on the tactical internationalism of Ida B. Wells-Barnett.
Warm-up: The Activist "Avengers"
In 1896, the National Association of Colored Women (NACW) was founded. Clint Smith refers to this group as the "Avengers."
- Harriet Tubman
- Frances E.W. Harper
- Mary Church Terrell
- Ida B. Wells
Discussion Prompt
"Why is the collaboration of these specific women significant for Black political power in the late 19th century?"
Investigation: Ida B. Wells
CRASH COURSE #20
Embedded media
Tactical Journalism: Data as Defense
Dismantling the "Rape Myth"
Wells used statistics to prove that fewer than 30% of lynching victims were even accused of assault.
The Real Motivations
- Economic competition (e.g., People's Grocery)
- Social "insubordination"
- Assertion of political agency
"She traversed the Southern states for two months to gather information... using her publications to openly denounce the practice."
The Transatlantic Circuit
U.S.
Targeted for her writing, exiled from Memphis, threat of violence.
U.K.
Leveraged British morality; established the British Anti-Lynching Society (1894).
Why did international pressure work where domestic appeals failed?
From "Southern Horrors" to BLM
Wells did not just fight for justice; she defined the intersectional framework we use today.
Legacy 1
Investigative journalism as a tool of liberation.
Legacy 2
Shifting the narrative by exposing structural power vs. individual "crime."
Intersectionality Inquiry Cards
Seminar Inquiry Cards
Discussion anchors for the study of Ida B. Wells and Intersectional Activism.
Inquiry 01
The Power of "Iola"
"And while Wells was brave, she was also strategic... she published many articles... under the moniker 'Iola.'"
Prompt:
How does the use of a pseudonym (Iola) reflect both the physical danger of 19th-century journalism and the calculated tactical nature of Wells' activism?
Inquiry 02
Economic Lynchings
"The presence of this moderately successful Black-owned business sparked anger... three men were kidnapped and lynched."
Prompt:
How does the "People's Grocery" incident dismantle the myth of lynching as a 'judicial' act? What does this reveal about the economic function of white supremacy?
Inquiry 03
The Transatlantic Circuit
"Wells took her campaign to Great Britain to leverage international pressure... building on the work of Frederick Douglass."
Prompt:
Compare Wells' international tour to that of Frederick Douglass. How did her status as a woman change her reception and the 'moral' weight of her testimony in Britain?
Inquiry 04
Legacy of Intersectionality
"Ida B. Wells... in many ways, helped lay the groundwork for... the Black Lives Matter movement of today."
Prompt:
In what specific ways did Wells' dismantling of the 'rape myth' and her focus on state-sanctioned violence prefigure the modern movement for Black lives?
Student Reflection Space
