Reviews for Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of IDA B. Wells

The average rating for Crusade for Justice: The Autobiography of IDA B. Wells based on 2 reviews is 4 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2014-04-29 00:00:00 Codey Urban 4.5/5 [H]e would say without qualification that he could not imagine a crime so great that it would need be avenged by lynch law in any country in the world; and what was more he did not believe that crime ever was avenged by lynch law without the lowering of the moral tone of the community, and without the introduction of worse evils than were attempted to be suppressed. Out of the many books I've tasked myself with getting to, this is one of the ones I've spent the most effort on. Not only did I unhesitatingly shell out for it at an actual store rather than do my customary waiting on the benevolence of book sale shelves, I kept it on my intended 2017 YoRWoC plan from the beginning, only now reading it after the year is nearly through. The rating may make it seem that this effort was less than fully re-compensated, but rather, it made me realize the necessity of Wells having a biographer in the wake of her autobiography. Comprehensively detailed and admirable forthright as this text is, pages are missing, the ending lies unfinished, and with the sheer amount of constantly thwarted triumphs plaguing Wells' life, it can be assumed that this tale has been severely compromised by ill health from stress, lack of time, and judging from the near to the end transcription that all had been for naught, dearth of motivation. While stereotype demanded a lone woman in the face of her work, I'm glad Wells had her family around her, who I hope sustained her when, once again, the white people had closed in their murderous ranks and the black people had withdrawn into their androcentric stagnation. I can't imagine going on once again, and again, and again in the face of this, and yet Ida B. Wells did just that. Although it was a well-merited rebuke from her point of view, I could not tell [Susan B.] Anthony that it was because I had been unable, like herself, to get the support which was necessary to car yon my work that I had become discouraged in the effort to carry on alone. For that reason I welcomed the opportunity of trying to help unite our people so that there would be a following to help in the arduous work necessary. There is, more often than not, an inverse relationship between what a person is known for and what a person is judged for. The most famous, usually by demographic means, have their secrets of which display is censured, the most infamous have their aided and abetted descendants, and the heroes are: gone. Wells is only one of many, and she is one of the more well known, having myriad texts that, from my view , are increasingly coming back to life. That didn't make her story any less frustrating to read, as the sheer number of times when she was the initiative to something that either she didn't have enough time or money to run, she couldn't find someone to take up her mantel, or was simply conspired against till her hardworking dedication and utmost bravery was either thwarted, misinterpreted, misused, or flat out stolen and attributed to someone else. The list of the latter includes W.E.B. Du Bois, among others, all of whom have suffered a decrease in reputation with me, as much as Susan B. Anthony has, surprisingly, enjoyed an increase. She had her moments of whiteness over femininity, but was far more strident about proto-intersectionality upon meeting Wells. This ties back to the odd focus had on good, in Wells' book, white people, as if she needed specific reminders of humanity to stand staunch against the tide committing such atrocities that she battled for the entirety of her life. I'd imagine she was as honest about this as well as her criticisms of individuals of the black community of her time, but it makes for a discomforting balanced concoction. Other than her husband and a few religious leaders and those she helped, I can't think of any peers she didn't eventually and justly turn her back upon, which makes for a sad reading. I don't wish she had been any less active in her social justice; it's just a disgrace what such heroism affords for certain demographics. An effort was made to have a resolution passed by that convention condemning lynching, as the Methodist Episcopal Conference had done at Omaha in May. The committee on resolutions decided that it could not be done as they had too many southern delegates present and did not wish to offend them. I'll be picking up anything I can of Wells, author as well as authored. She is one of many who deserve such recognition on the scale afforded to her oppressors and her ostracizers, and as attested to by a reference in Black Deutschland, she's made an impact that can be well built upon. I'm not sure what's happening to her in the academic world, but I do know that here, she has my review and the 500 GBBW project behind her. I can only hope she inspires others as much in the political and academic realms as she has me. When the people needed such criticism, I felt he ought to have done as we did'tell them about it at home rather than tell our enemies abroad. A civilized community does not need lynch law[.]

Review # 2 was written on 2020-06-23 00:00:00 Marvin Blanco Another amazing woman who fought tirelessly for justice. My review: