Holly Springs in Marshall County, Mississippi — The American South (East South Central)
Ida B. Wells
— Mississippi Writers Trail —
Photographed By Mark Hilton, April 2, 2021
1. Ida B. Wells Marker
Inscription.
Ida B. Wells. . Born to slave parents in Holly Springs on July 16, 1862, Wells' life epitomized the freedom struggle for African Americans following the Civil War. When her parents and an infant brother died in the Yellow Fever outbreak of 1878, Wells raised her five remaining siblings. Despite these early hardships, she became a journalist and entrepreneur serving as co-owner of the Memphis, Tennessee, newspaper Free Speech. Her investigative style of journalism publicized the often unreported accounts of mob lynching in the South. Her books Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases and A Red Record exposed the subterfuges southerners employed for this type of murder of Black men. "Nobody in this section of the country believes the old threadbare lie that Negro men rape White women," Wells once wrote. She died March 25, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois.
Born to slave parents in Holly Springs on July 16, 1862, Wells' life
epitomized the freedom struggle for African Americans following the
Civil War. When her parents and an infant brother died in the Yellow
Fever outbreak of 1878, Wells raised her five remaining siblings.
Despite these early hardships, she became a journalist and entrepreneur
serving as co-owner of the Memphis, Tennessee, newspaper Free Speech. Her investigative style of journalism publicized the often unreported accounts of mob lynching in the South. Her books Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases and A Red Record exposed the subterfuges southerners employed for this type of murder of Black men. "Nobody in this section of the country believes the old threadbare lie that Negro men rape White women," Wells once wrote. She died March 25, 1931, in Chicago, Illinois.
Erected 2019 by Mississippi Writers Trail.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: African Americans • Arts, Letters, Music. In addition, it is included in the Mississippi Writers Trail series list. A significant historical date for this entry is March 25, 1931.
Location. 34° 46.452′ N, 89° 26.823′ W. Marker is in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in Marshall County
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. Marker is on Rust Avenue east of North Memphis Street (State Route 178), on the right when traveling east. Located at the David L. Beckley Conference Center, across the Rust College entrance. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 155 Rust Ave, Holly Springs MS 38635, United States of America. Touch for directions.
2. Ida B. Wells Marker at the David L. Beckley Conference Center.
Public domain c. 1893
3. Ida B. Wells
From a cropped photograph by Mary Garrity from circa 1893.
Credits. This page was last revised on April 2, 2021. It was originally submitted on April 2, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama. This page has been viewed 249 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 2, 2021, by Mark Hilton of Montgomery, Alabama.
