The Red Record

Ida B. Wells exposes a series of racially-motivated acts that disproportionately affect African Americans and is overwhelmingly ignored by a majority white criminal justice system. It’s crucial documentation of a brutal practice that tormented a community.

In the late nineteenth century, Ida B. Wells was a thriving journalist and civil rights activist. She used her writing and skills as an investigative reporter to reveal the horrifying reality that many African Americans experienced. The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States, is an explosive report on how mob violence and white supremacy had become the de facto law of the land. It created a culture of cruelty and anti-blackness that promoted public attacks, including lynchings.

Ida B. Wells’ work helped to initiate conversations about racism, policy and policing. Shortly after the release of The Red Record: Tabulated Statistics and Alleged Causes of Lynching in the United States, the first anti-lynching bill was introduced into Congress. Wells’ efforts were critical for African Americans seeking justice in a historically racist system.

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Ida B. Wells (1862–1931) was an African American journalist and active member of the civil rights movement. Initially born into slavery, she gained her freedom due to the Emancipation Proclamation. As a teenager, her family was ravaged by yellow fever, which claimed her mother, father and brother. Wells began supporting herself as a teacher, and eventually a journalist for a local newspaper. She often highlighted racial injustice with features such as Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases. Due to her commitment to race and gender equality, Wells received multiple awards including a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.