49 Quotes by Ida B. Wells

If this work can contribute in any way toward proving this, and at the same time arouse the conscience of the American people to a demand for justice to every citizen, and punishment by law for the lawless, I shall feel I have done my race a service.

The city of Memphis has demonstrated that neither character nor standing avails the Negro if he dares to protect himself against the white man or become his rival,

The people must know before they can act, and there is no educator to compare with the press.

The appeal to the white man's pocket has ever been more effectual than all the appeals ever made to his conscience.

The white man's dollar is his god, and to stop this will be to stop outrages in many localities.

The negro has suffered far more from the commission of this crime against the women of his race by white men than the white race has ever suffered through his crimes.

The mob spirit has grown with the increasing intelligence of the Afro-American.

I came home every Friday afternoon, riding the six miles on the back of a big mule. I spent Saturday and Sunday washing and ironing and cooking for the children and went back to my country school on Sunday afternoon.

What becomes a crime deserving capital punishment when the tables are turned is a matter of small moment when the negro woman is the accusing party.