Waters Troubled: The Life of Ida B.

¶ … Waters Troubled: The Life of Ida B. Wells by Linda O. McMurry. Specifically it will contain a critical review of the book. Ida B. Wells was a black activist who came of age after the Civil War in the American South. She was influential, perhaps one of the most influential black women in American history. The author wanted to portray her history so people would have a greater understanding of what she did and who she was, and she did that admirably. She included great detail as to how Wells accomplished her goals and brought attention to many occurrences in the South, but she also focused on many items of Wells life that really had nothing to do with her many accomplishments.

The ultimate goal of Ida Wells' activist work was to bring attention to the practice of lynching of blacks in the South. Wells was orphaned at the age of sixteen when both her parents died in a yellow fever epidemic. She took care of her brothers and sisters as the head of the family after that, finding work as a schoolteacher. The author writes, "Moving into adulthood is often painful and difficult. Wells had to accomplish the passage rapidly and without the aid of her mother or father, who had provided her with a sheltered existence until their early deaths" (McMurry 1998, 50). The author shows how Wells young life affected her growth and activism, and how she came to understand herself and what she believed in, weaving diary entries and early newspaper columns into the journalist she would become.

In 1891, Wells wrote a column for her newspaper that was critical of her Memphis school board, and they failed to renew her teaching contract. She became the editor of the newspaper she partially owned, which began her full-time career in journalism. She had never liked teaching, so this really started out the career of her dreams, and sent her down the right path in her life. The author continues, "Freedom from teaching allowed Wells to become more deeply involved in various organizational efforts that predated her becoming a fulltime editor. Her roles in the Southern Afro-American Press Association and the National Afro-American League expanded her impact as a racial advocate" (McMurry 1998, 119). This is where Wells' life really begins to change, and she begins to become a real advocate for social change and reform. The author's real purpose becomes clear here, as well. McMurry now shows the fundamental purpose of her portrayal of Wells by showing her as a devoted activist and reformer who begins to show the horrors of lynching and black suppression in the South.

Three of Wells close friends were lynched by a mob of white men after they defended their grocery store by a mob of white men, killing a white deputy in the process. When Wells spoke out against the lynchings, whites drove her newspaper out of business, and she moved north to New York City, where she continued to speak out against lynchings and other practices in the South. Wells wrote of the incident, "There is therefore only one thing left that we can do; save our money and leave a town which will neither protect our lives and property, nor give us a fair trial in the courts, but takes us out and murders us in cold blood when accused by white persons" (McMurry 1998, 136). This is the heart of McMurry's portrayal of Wells, and how she tirelessly worked for black activism. Wells took on the job of educating the country about the realities of lynching and what led to it, and McMurry uses her writings to show how she did this. She uses direct quotes from her newspaper columns, along with paraphrasing and discussion to show how passionate and controversial Wells could be when she was discussing her views. The author notes, "If whites wondered what they could do about the scourge of lynching, Wells provided some examples. She named groups and people who had taken forceful stands against 'the frequent and revolting crimes against a weak people'" (McMurry 1998, 162). Throughout the work, the author uses primary sources, such as diaries and newspaper articles for information, along with an autobiography, biographies, journal articles, and other material as sources for her work on Ida B. Wells, which she includes in a bibliography at the end of the book.

The author helps contribute to our historical knowledge by introducing us to someone who worked tirelessly for social change and black equality. Wells continue to work for black civil rights even after she married Chicago attorney Ferdinand Lee Barnett and became the mother to three children. She became somewhat active in the NAACP and she traveled to England twice to take her message to a global audience. Wells is also not nearly as well-known as many other black historical figures, so the author introduces readers to someone who was extremely significant historically, but that modern readers might not know too much about, so the book introduces a completely new generation to someone who had great historical significance in their time.