Douglass was an Abolitionist leader who was born into slavery in Talbot County, Maryland. After Douglass escaped and became a free man in 1838, he told his story at abolitionist meetings and became a anti-slavery lecturer. Douglass quickly became one of the most recognized black men in the county. In 1845, he published an autobiography about his experiences in slavery. Douglass also created an abolitionist newspaper, "The North Star" in 1847. "The North Star" became the most influential antislavery newspaper published in the antebellum era. In 1863, he spoke with President Abraham Lincoln about getting the black soldiers the proper treatments, and he later spoke with President Andrew Johnson about black suffrage. Gifted as a orator and a writer, Douglass will be forever be remembered as the first prominent African American man to have the power to fight to end slavery and black rights at the national level. To learn more, click on the button below.
Ida B. Wells was born a slave in 1862 and battled sexism, racism, and violence. Wells was a gifted writer who became a prominent journalist in the late 19th century. She enrolled in Rust College, but she got expelled after a dispute with the president of the college. In 1882, Wells moved to Tennessee to live with family and to further her education at Fisk University. In 1891, Wells was fired from her job after speaking on behalf of the conditions of the black only schools. She soon became a journalist in Memphis and founded the "Memphis Free Press" who fought the white mob violence. This nearly cost her her life in 1892 when a mob burned down her press and forced her to leave Memphis. Wells spent the rest of her life traveling the country and even to Europe speaking out against white violence and pushing for equal rights for women. She will be remembered for her immense courage to speak out against the people in power throughout her lifetime. To lean more, click on the button below.
Robert Abbott 1870-1940 Although he may be considered the lesser known of Douglass and Wells, Abbott started "The Defender" in downtown Chicago. Through its brave attacks on the KKK and other hate groups, the paper soon became the most popular black newspaper around the country. He became extremely influential in the black community and even is even credited for beginning the Great Migration for African Americans to come north for jobs. His sarcastic writing style and prose helped point out the racism in white newspapers by referring to every white male as "white" referring to most newspapers calling blacks "negroes" after their name. He became one of the first black millionaires and used the money to grow the paper across th country even as his paper was banned throughout the southern states. On his death in 1940, his paper was flourishing and would continue to lead the charge toward civil rights for African Americans. To learn more, click on the button below.