ebooks Race: A Theological Account by J. Kameron Carter in History

Description

In 'They Say;' James West Davidson recounts the first thirty years in the passionate life of Ida B. Wells--as well as the story of the great struggle over the meaning of race in post-emancipation America. Davidson captures the breathtaking and often chaotic changes that swept the South as Wells grew up in Holly Springs; Mississippi: the spread of education among free blacks; the rise of political activism; and the bitter struggles for equality in the face of entrenched social custom.When Wells came of age she moved to bustling Memphis; where her quest for personal fulfillment was thwarted as whites increasingly used race as a barrier to separate blacks from mainstream America. Davidson traces the crosscurrents of these cultural conflicts through Wells's forceful personality; intertwining her struggle to define herself with her early courageous; and often audacious; behavior. When a conductor threw her off a train for refusing to sit in the segregated car; she sued the railroad--and won. When she protested conditions in segregated Memphis schools; she was fired--and took up journalism. And in 1892; when an explosive lynching rocked Memphis; Wells embarked fully on the career for which she is now remembered; as outspoken anti-lynching writer and lecturer.Period photographs from postcards; newspapers; and Wells's own diary further engage readers in this dynamic story. Richly researched and deftly written; the book offers a gripping portrait of the young Ida B. Wells; who directly encountered and influenced the evolving significance of race in America.