Why was Ida Wells against lynching?

Question

Besides the fact that she was African-American, what were the other reasons as to why she was against lynchings? Did the fact that her friends were the victims of lynching compel her to go against lynching?

Answer 1

Hey N^2,

The fact that Lynchings were unjustified and cruel. See the paragraph below, on a mob.

In 1878, both of her parents died of yellow fever. Rather than have her five younger siblings split up, she took on the responsibility of raising them. To support her siblings, Wells passed an examination to become a teacher. She obtained a teaching job at a country school. In 1881, after three of her siblings were old enough to live on their own, Wells and her two younger sisters moved to Memphis, Tennessee where she obtained a job teaching.

Shortly thereafter, Wells' crusade for justice began after she challenged Jim Crow Laws in Tennessee. Wells brought a successful lawsuit against the Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad after she was removed from her seat when she refused to give it up and sit in the "colored only" car. However, the Tennessee Supreme Court overruled the lower court in 1887.

Wells continued her pursuit for justice. In 1891 under the pen name Iola, Wells wrote newspaper articles criticizing the educational resources available to African American children. Wells continued her writing career after her teaching contract was not renewed. She worked as a journalist for the Memphis Free Speech and acquired an ownership interest in it.

Wells' anti-lynching crusade began in 1892 after three of her friends were lynched by a mob. She began writing articles against lynching. Her controversial stance led to the destruction of her newspaper office. Thereafter, she continued her crusade at the New York Age as a staff writer. In addition to her journalist endeavors, she became a lecturer and organizer of anti-lynching societies throughout the United States. She also traveled to Great Britain to speak out against lynching

Answer 2

Why would anyone be against lynching?...Maybe because its horrible. Most African Americans that were lynched in the past, were done so as part of a hate crime. They were lyched because they were black, and they were veiwed as a threat in someway to the white society around them.

Answer 3

Lynching is the law of the jungle, and liable to commit great mistakes.

All civilized people are against it.
Ida Wells was civilized.

Answer 4

Everyone new that lynchings were crule hate crimes, and she just wanted to call international attention to the fact.

Answer 5

cause its bad, dont worry bout it'