Ida B. Wells-Barnett

de bene esse: literally, of well-being, morally acceptable but subject to future validation or exception 

“The way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them.”

Ida B. Wells-Barnett, born 16 July 1862.

African-American journalist, newspaper editor, suffragist, sociologist and, with her husband, newspaper owner Ferdinand L. Barnett, an early leader in the civil rights movement. 

 

She documented lynching in the U.S., showing how it was often a way to control or punish blacks who competed with whites. She was active in the women's rights and the women's suffrage movement, establishing several notable women's organizations. Wells was a skilled and persuasive rhetorician, and traveled internationally on lecture tours.