Skip to main content

Secondary sourceBook1893

Wells, Ida B., A. M.

1893

A biographical chapter about Ida B. Wells in Lawson Scruggs's 1893 book Women of Distinction, showing her standing among Black women of her era.

This 1893 biographical sketch documents how Wells was regarded and celebrated by her contemporaries.

Ask Ida B. Wells about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Full text (Wikisource)

About this source

What it is

This is a chapter from the 1893 book Women of Distinction, a collection of biographical sketches about notable Black women of the period. It opens with reflections on women's changing social role before turning to Wells's life and work.

Why it matters

The book shows how contemporaries viewed Wells's achievements within a larger narrative about Black women's progress, comparing her implicitly to earlier reform figures. It reveals how she was understood and celebrated by her peers during her own lifetime, rather than only in later history.

Look closer

  • What assumptions about women and history does the opening passage reveal?
  • Why might the author have wanted to place Wells alongside figures from the anti-slavery movement?
  • What might this kind of biographical sketch leave out about a person's real struggles?

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.

More Ida B. Wells sources

Meet the AI Ida B. Wells →
Title page of the 1892 pamphlet 'Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases' on aged, stained paper. Below the title is an engraved portrait of a woman with hair piled high, and the caption 'Miss IDA B. WELLS'. Text reads 'Price, Fifteen Cents' and 'The New York Age Print, 1892'.Book

Primary source

Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases

Ida B. Wells · 1892

Book

Primary source

The Red Record

Ida B. Wells-Barnett · 1895

Sepia-toned studio portrait of a woman in three-quarter view facing left, with hair piled high in an updo and a small ornament on top. She wears a dark lace dress with a high ruffled collar and a light decorative pin at the neck.Photograph

Primary source

Ida B. Wells-Barnett Portrait

Mary Garrity · c. 1893

Sepia-toned studio portrait of a woman with voluminous hair piled high on her head, turned three-quarters to the right. She wears a high-necked dark dress with beaded and embroidered trim at the collar.Photograph

Primary source

Ida B. Wells Portrait by Cihak and Zima

Cihak and Zima · c. 1895

Black-and-white newspaper photograph of women in white sashes at a 1913 suffrage parade. Sashes read 'Vote No Tax' and a banner reads 'Illinois'. Caption names Virginia Brooks, Mrs. Belle Squire, and Mrs. Ida Wells Barnett. Inset below shows a smaller figure.Newspaper article

Primary source

Ida B. Wells at 1913 Suffrage Parade

May 1913

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Ida B. Wells now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions