The famous female Black journalist Ida B. Wells is the latest woman to be honored by Barbie in their Inspiring Women Series. The doll launched on January 17th, which was also Martin Luther King Jr Day, and is just the latest doll in this series. The Inspiring Women Series was created to pay homage to famous American women in history who deserve to be known by today's girls, and Ida B. Wells is next.
Wells' great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster, shared a statement printed by ABC News about her great-grandmother's accomplishments and this new Barbie doll made in her honor. She said,
"My great-grandmother was a trailblazer, who courageously followed her convictions and challenged the status quo by fighting for civil rights and women's suffrage. This is an incredible opportunity to shine a light on her truth and enduring legacy to empower a new generation to speak up for what they believe in."
Wells was born into slavery in 1862 in the middle of the Civil War in Mississippi. After the war ended, Wells' parents started supporting Reconstruction in the American South. Her parents also wanted her to be well-educated. For girls alone at that time, education wasn't the norm, but it was especially unusual for young Black girls from the south.
Women's History notes that Ida B. Wells enrolled in Rust College as a young woman but was expelled after she got into an argument with the University president. When Wells was just 16 years old, a yellow fever epidemic swept through her hometown in Mississippi.
Unfortunately, both of her parents and an infant brother died in this epidemic. Wells had other siblings and once her parents died, she took on the responsibility of raising them herself. To do so, Wells took on a job as a teacher and moved them all to Memphis, Tennessee. This was the 1880s, so racial tensions were still very fraught. After suing a train company for unfair treatment based on her race, and the lynching of some of her friends, Wells decided to confront the violence inflicted on Black Americans by white mob mentality.
She began writing about lynchings and investigated these cases. Wells was able to publish a pamphlet about white mob violence as well as several columns in the paper. Her words weren't taken well by many white citizens in Memphis, and as a result, she was threatened and her words were burned. Wells eventually had to relocate to Chicago. There, she continued her Civil Rights work and was also a suffragette fighting for the women's right to vote.
Wells' story is an inspiration to any little girl (or boy) and her legacy has lived on. The Barbie Inspiring Women line has also featured Ruth Ginsburg and Rosa Parks.
Source: Women's History, ABC News