Primary sourceBook1920
The Arkansas Race Riot
Ida B. Wells-Barnett · 1920
A volunteer audio reading of Ida B. Wells-Barnett's 1920 report investigating the Elaine Massacre in Arkansas.
This 1920 report, written by Wells, records her own investigation into the Elaine Massacre; the audio is a later volunteer reading of her text.
About this source
What it is
This is a recorded reading of The Arkansas Race Riot, written by Ida B. Wells-Barnett in 1920 after she investigated the Elaine Massacre in Phillips County, Arkansas. The audio is a modern volunteer reading made for LibriVox, not Wells's own voice, only a performance of her written text.
Why it matters
In this report, Wells challenges the official version of events, which blamed Black sharecroppers for a riot, and instead investigates the violence inflicted on them by a white mob. It demonstrates her continued work late in her career exposing racial injustice through careful investigation.
Look closer
- How does Wells's account differ from the version first reported in the press?
- Why might the true scale of violence against Black residents have been underreported at the time?
- What does her choice to investigate this riot herself tell you about her methods as a journalist?
This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Ida B. Wells on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.
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