"They Say": Ida B. Wells and the Reconstruction of Race

by James West Davidson

Overview

Richly researched and deftly written, "They Say" offers a gripping portrait of the young Ida B. Wells, shedding light not only on how one black American defined her own aspirations and her people's freedom, but also on the changing meaning of race in America. Historian James West Davidson captures the breathtaking, often chaotic changes that swept the South as Wells grew up: the spread of education among the free blacks, the rise of political activism, the bitter struggles for equality in the face of entrenched social custom.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780198036326
Publisher:	Oxford University Press
Publication date:	07/21/2008
Series:	New Narratives in American History
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

James West Davidson is a historian and writer. His books include After the Fact: The Art of Historical Detection, Nation of Nations: A History of the American Republic, and Great Heart: The History of a Labrador Adventure.

Table of Contents

Foreword     viii
Acknowledgments     xi
Prologue: "Dose This Look Natchel?"     1
Into A Changing World     12
A Moral Education     34
Unladylike Lady     53
Edged Tools     76
Ambition To Edit     97
They Say     124
Do Something     137
Exiled     159
Afterword     179
Selected Bibliography     204
Abbreviations     207
Notes     208
Illustration Credits     231
Index     233

Editorial Reviews

"Lynching is the greatest disgrace in our history, and Ida Wells-Barnett was its most courageous assailant. James West Davidson has written an eloquent account of the growth of Wells-Barnett's self-defined persona as a black woman, journalist, and fearless crusader. Refusing to accept an identity shaped by others—'they say'—she boldly told the world that 'I say' who I am and what I stand for."—James McPherson, author of The Battle Cry of Freedom and The Mighty Scourge

"Davidson's narrative looking at the violent, tormented history of the post-Reconstruction South through the prism of the interior life of Ida B. Wells, one of America's undisputed heroes, is a refreshing way to open wider the door on the complexities of race, racism and identity that, regrettably, still haunt and challenge us today. We need highly readable scholarship like this, infused by the example of the redoubtable Wells to help give the lie to that the old adage that says 'we learn from history that we do not learn from history.' As an African-American woman and a journalist, I am grateful and inspired to have this testimony to a woman on whose shoulders I stand and whose legacy inspires me to stay committed to journalism that is informed by the righteous struggle of all peoples to be judged by the content of their character and not the color of their skin."—Charlayne Hunter-Gault, Journalist

"How did Ida Wells become the woman who challenged the silence of America on lynching? James Davidson shows us by re-creating the world of African Americans during the turbulent decades after the Civil War. A touching, compelling portrait of an important life in crucial times."—H.W. Brands, Dickson, Allen, Anderson Centennial Professor at the University of Texas at Austin, author of Andrew Jackson and The Money Men

From the Publisher