"Ida B. The Queen" Celebrates The Legacy Of Civil Rights Icon Ida B. Wells

ICONIC IDA

Source: Simon & Schuster

Iconic activist, journalist and civil rights titan Ida B. Wells was dedicated to the fight for racial justice as a fearless beacon of hope who challenged systems, exposed truths, and committed herself to those who didn’t have power.

‘Ida B. the Queen‘ tells the incredible story of a prolific pioneer who was often overlooked and underestimated despite her widespread popularity during the ugliest era in American history.

In the eyes of the FBI, this made her a “dangerous negro agitator” who, at one point, refused to exit a train car meant for white passengers in her fight for Black women to have the same rights as white women.

Written by Wells’s great-granddaughter Michelle Duster–a champion of racial and gender equity, the profound page-turner is a unique visual celebration of Wells’s life, and of the Black experience.

The gorgeous collection of timeless stories, historic documents, rare photos and nods to the new generation of freedom fighters pops with stunning interior designs by Elizabeth Van Itallie who infuses Ida’s legacy with vibrant colors sure to attract a wide range of readers.

Over the course of 170 pages, Duster weaves poignant passages between color-splashed tributes to icons like Shirley Chisholm and celebrations of new-age heroes, disruptors and history-makers like Stacey Abrams, Bree Newsome (who famously scaled a flag pole to remove the Confederate Flag from the South Carolina statehouse) and Kamala Harris to name a few.

A century after her death, Wells’s genius is celebrated in popular culture by politicians, through song, public artwork, and landmarks.

In 2020, she was posthumously honored with a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, “for her outstanding and courageous reporting on the horrific and vicious violence against African Americans.”

During her lifetime, her voice made her dangerous, a threat to the white ruling class and the status quo. But to her allies (that included Frederick Douglass, W.E.B. Du Bois and Harriet Tubman) it made her a courageous and passionate organizer.

For more information on “Ida B. The Queen”–an essential gem for every bookcase, click here.