The Transformative Justice Coalition and the Voting Rights Alliance, in honor of Black History Month, are reviving the daily special series devoted to sharing the legacies and stories of the sheroes, heroes, and events in the fight for Black suffrage. This series was created in 2017 and added 4 NEW articles this year, and several newly revised, updated, or corrected ones. In addition to these daily newsletters all February long, this series also incorporates daily social media posts; an interactive calendar; and, website blog posts to spread the word broadly.

We encourage everyone to share this series to your networks and on social media under the hashtag #VRABlackHistory. You can also tweet us @TJC_DC to share your own facts.

Barbara Arnwine insisted that we could not have another year without publishing our Black History series! All month long, we have honored, recognized, and educated about a person, organization, or event, spanning over 5 centuries and told in chronological order, about those moments that forever changed the movement for African-American suffrage. The Transformative Justice Coalition thanks those who have been republishing our articles, on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, your websites, and even in the Tennessee Tribune. Over the 28 days of February 2022, these Black History emails were opened over 65,000 times, with over 600 individual clicks. You have responded to these emails with corrections, more information, asks to republish the series, and by expressing your thanks. We want to also extend our gratitude for your appreciation of the history this series shares.

This article is written by Caitlyn Cobb. All the sources are linked throughout the article with a full reference list at the end of the full article which can be read by clicking the button at the bottom of the page). This is an introductory summary page.

Today we honor Ida B. Wells-Barnett, who was a journalist, civil rights activist, and suffragist who endlessly fought against racial and sexual discrimination.

“Born a slave in 1862, Ida Bell Wells was the oldest daughter of James and Lizzie Wells. The Wells family, as well as the rest of the slaves of the Confederate states, were decreed free by the Union, about six months after Ida's birth, thanks to the Emancipation Proclamation.” “Although enslaved prior to the Civil War, her parents were able to support their seven children because her mother was a 'famous' cook and her father was a skilled carpenter." “Ida B. Wells's [sic] parents were active in the Republican Party during Reconstruction. Her father, James, was involved with the Freedman’s Aid Society and helped start Shaw University, a school for the newly freed slaves (now Rust College) and served on the first board of trustees.” "When Ida was only fourteen [though some sources say she was sixteen], a tragic epidemic of Yellow Fever swept through Holly Springs and killed her parents and youngest sibling. Emblematic of the righteousness, responsibility, and fortitude that characterized her life, she kept the family together by securing a job teaching [at only 14 years old]. She managed to continue her education by attending near-by Rust College."