Michelle Duster

Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth is an inspiring picture book biography of the groundbreaking journalist and civil rights activist as told by her great-granddaughter Michelle Duster and illustrated by Coretta Scott King Award Honoree artist Laura Freeman. Ida B. Wells was an educator, journalist, feminist, businesswoman, newspaper owner, public speaker, suffragist, civil rights activist, and women's club leader. She was a founder of the NAACP, the National Association of Colored Women's Clubs, the Alpha Suffrage Club, and the Negro Fellowship League. She wrote, spoke, and traveled, challenging the racist and sexist norms of her time. Faced with criticism and threats to her life, she never gave up. This is her extraordinary true story, as told by her great-granddaughter Michelle Duster and beautifully brought to life by Coretta Scott King Award Honoree artist Laura Freeman.

Journalist. Suffragist. Antilynching crusader. In 1862, Ida B. Wells was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi. In 2020, she won a Pulitzer Prize. Ida B. Wells committed herself to the needs of those who did not have power. In the eyes of the FBI, this made her a “dangerous negro agitator.” In the annals of history, it makes her an icon. Ida B. the Queen tells the awe-inspiring story of an pioneering woman who was often overlooked and underestimated—a woman who refused to exit a train car meant for white passengers; a woman brought to light the horrors of lynching in America; a woman who cofounded the NAACP. Written by Wells’s great-granddaughter Michelle Duster, this “warm remembrance of a civil rights icon” (Kirkus Reviews) is a unique visual celebration of Wells’s life, and of the Black experience. A century after her death, Wells’s genius is being celebrated in popular culture by politicians, through song, public artwork, and landmarks. Like her contemporaries Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, Wells left an indelible mark on history—one that can still be felt today. As America confronts the unfinished business of systemic racism, Ida B. the Queen pays tribute to a transformational leader and reminds us of the power we all hold to smash the status quo.

Called "a dangerous negro agitator" by the FBI, and a "brave woman" by Frederick Douglass, an inspiring biography of the American pioneer by Ida B. Wells's great-granddaughter. Winner of a 2020 Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, Ida B. Wells was born enslaved in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1862. In this inspiring and accessible biography, Wells's great-granddaughter Michelle Duster tells the incredible story of Wells's life, including stories from her childhood in Mississippi, her famous refusal to give up her seat on a ladies' train car in Memphis, and her later work as a pioneering journalist and anti-lynching crusader. Overlooked and underestimated, Wells would single-handedly change the course of American history and come to inspire millions. Ida B. the Queen shines a bright light on one of the most extraordinary women in history.

“She fought a lonely and almost single-handed fight, with the single-mindedness of a crusader, long before men or women of any race entered the arena; and the measure of success she achieved goes far beyond the credit she has been given in the history of the country.”—Alfreda M. Duster Ida B. Wells is an American icon of truth telling. Born to slaves, she was a pioneer of investigative journalism, a crusader against lynching, and a tireless advocate for suffrage, both for women and for African Americans. She co-founded the NAACP, started the Alpha Suffrage Club in Chicago, and was a leader in the early civil rights movement, working alongside W. E. B. Du Bois, Madam C. J. Walker, Mary Church Terrell, Frederick Douglass, and Susan B. Anthony. This engaging memoir, originally published 1970, relates Wells’s private life as a mother as well as her public activities as a teacher, lecturer, and journalist in her fight for equality and justice. This updated edition includes a new foreword by Eve L. Ewing, new images, and a new afterword by Ida B. Wells’s great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster.

Something happened and motivated these quiet activists to make an impact on their family, organization, or community. They chose to speak up about issues they care about. Some are following a tradition of generational activism. Others became involved for the first time and suddenly realized they were engaged in activism. IMPACT: PERSONAL PORTRAITS OF ACTIVISM gathers personal essays, poems, short stories and drama from around the world to show how actions big and small can lead to some form of justice. A standout book, IMPACT was a 2021 Indie Book Award Finalist in two categories: Anthology and Social Change. CONTRIBUTORS: Dee Allen., Annette M. Alston, Jennifer Brown Banks, Brian C. Billings, Aila Alvina Boyd, Tony Bradburn, Lisa Braxton, A. J. Chilson, Deirdre Clawson, Marion Deutsche Cohen, Richard Downing, Theresa J. Elders, Linda Elman, Clara Freeman, CMarie Fuhrman, Stephanie J. Gates, Sharron Goodman-Hill, Alexandra Grabbe, Sandra Hall, Judy Hogan, Hunter Liguore, Chad W. Lutz, Jarrett Mazza, Greta McClain, Erin Goseer Mitchell, Rita Moe, Carole Ann Moleti, Naida Mujkic, Allene Nichols, Leah Olajide, Keith A. Raymond, Leslie Penelope Recht, Jacqueline Ruegg, Terry Sanville, Gerard Sarnat, Anjana Satpathy, Anne Farrer Scott, Judy Seldin-Cohen, Unique Shaw-Smith, Chantae Still, Patti Capel Swartz, Laura Sweeney, Marianne Taylor, Uzomah Ugwu, Susan Winstead