How Ida B. Wells Lead A Dignified Black Exodus from the Memphis

Justice or Else!, which is the theme of the 20th Anniversary of the Million Man March has many—supporters, naysayers and opposition—asking the question: “What is the “or else?”

That’s why people from all walks of life: religious, conscious, street organizations, gay and lesbian community, and college students are eager to hear from the Honorable Minister Louis Farrakhan, national representative of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad and the Nation of Islam, who is the convener of “Justice Or Else!” set for October 10, 2015 in Washington, D.C.

People who have been listening to The Minister know he will have a divinely inspired solution to the continued injustice. As the Minister has pointed out—Black people have tried many things including sitting in, marching in, praying in, dying in and more.

The quest for justice is not knew. Since our ancestors set the soles of their feet in the Northern Hemisphere off the ships owned by Jewish, Portuguese and English sailing merchants, we have sought justice.

An incredible piece of unknown history revolves around the courageous actions of Ida B. Wells, who in 1892, started a crusade against lynching after three friends were brutally murdered by a Memphis mob of both regular citizens and city officials. Here’s the background.

Three Black men, Thomas Moss, Calvin McDowell and Henry Stewart were co-owners of the People’s Grocery, opened in 1889. They opened their store right across the street from a white owned store and with the natural inclination for people to buy from people that they know, like and trust, many Black peoples began shopping at the People’s Grocery. Three years later, the white owner was fed up with lost revenue and hired his friends supposedly deputy officer to handle these Black man.

The intruders, with guns in hand, had no probable cause to enter the store. The Black men stood their ground. During the altercation, three of the white invaders were shot and injured. In the aftermath, the Black men who defended themselves and their store were jailed and sat awaiting trial. Before a trial could be had, whites stormed the jail and the three men where lynched on March 9, 1892.

Moss’ dying words were, “Tell my people to go west — there is no justice for them here.”

Wells, who owned the Free Speech and Headlight newspaper, sprung into action. She spoke out about the refusal of Memphis police to arrest the well-known killers. She encouraged Blacks to protest with boycotts of white-owned stores and public transportation. Then she led roughly 6,000 Black people in an exodus out of Memphis.

Wells, an educator as well as a journalist, began to investigate and reveal the real motivations that lay behind the many lynchings. Like many middle-class Black Americans, Wells believed that that only poor blacks were lynched for heinous crimes.

Her investigation revealed that many innocent middle-class black people could be targets. In fact, she discovered that often, many Black men were lynched after being accused of raping a white women, when it fact, these men were killed for having sexual relations with consenting white women.

Additionally, as in the case of her friends, she concluded that lynching was “an excuse to get rid of Negroes who were acquiring wealth and property and thus keep the race terrorized.”

She wrote about her findings. “Nobody in this section of the community believes that old threadbare lie that Negro men rape white women. If Southern men are not careful, a conclusion might be reached which will be very damaging to the moral reputation of their women.”

She urged Blacks to leave quickly leave Memphis.

The Memphis Scimitar advocated a violent response towards the writer of the article, though written by Wells, was signed anonymous. “It will be the duty of those whom he has attacked to tie the wretch to a stake, brand him in the forehead with a hot iron and perform upon him a surgical operation with a pair of shears,” wrote an editorial in the Scimitar.

A mob destroyed Wells’ newspaper while Wells was out of town. Forced to remain in the North, Wells launched a national crusade against lynching that would capture the attention of the nation and Europe. In 1894 there was a mass lynching according to The Memphis Scimitar.

Wells was willing to speak out at the risk of losing her life for justice. What are we willing to sacrifice in 2015?