Interview with Ida B. Wells-Barnett by Alexis D. Crosby
Glenville High School
Cleveland, Ohio
I walk into the building, and attempting to hide my
nervousness, tell the receptionist that I have a 3 o’clock appointment.
The receptionist smiles and tells me that she will be right with me. I reply
thank you very much, Ms. Walker, after reading the name plate on her desk.
I take a seat. I can barely contain my excitement. What will finally meeting
this person be like? Will she be kind and understanding? Will she live up
to all of my expectations? Will she exceed them?
I wonder what her answers to my questions will be. What will
her reply be when I ask her about that day in Memphis, where her fight against
injustice began? What were her emotions as the conductor of the Chesapeake &
Ohio Railroad told her to give up her seat on the train to a white man and ordered
her into the smoking or "Jim Crow" car, which was already crowded
with other passengers? What were her thoughts after she refused to move and
was taken by force from the train? Did she experience a moment of satisfaction
because it took three men to drag her from her seat?
On that fateful day, a fighter against injustice was born.
She sued the railroad, and won in the local courts. However, when the railroad
company appealed to the Supreme Court of Tennessee, the ruling was reversed.
This was to be the first of many battles. One of her most passionate crusades
was against lynching. After three of her friends were lynched, she spoke out
against the practice and the fact that the people committing the crime were
rarely, if ever, prosecuted. She became so vocal that for her own safety she
left her home in Memphis, and moved to Chicago. Once in Chicago, she became
involved in many more crusades for human and women rights. She showed great
courage and passionately fought for justice. One of our greatest foremothers,
she was one of the people who paved the way for the Civil Rights movement of
the 1950s and 60s.
The receptionist,
Ms. Walker, caught my eye. She smiles and says, "Mrs. Wells-Barnett is
ready for you." I stand up, and walk into the office. I say, "Good
morning, Mrs. Barnett." She replies, "Good morning, come in and
have a seat, and please call me Ida."
