Ida B. Wells born in Holly Springs, Mississippi on July 16, 1862 and died on March 25, 1931 in Chicago, Illinois. She was an African-American woman who, from a young age, had to be a mother to her siblings, a teacher, then a journalist, editor, sociologist and suffragette. What makes Ida B. Wells-Barnett unique is how she became an activist for the voiceless by displaying her important leadership roles for the civil rights of African Americans. Ida B. Wells had lived during the time when African Americans, after the Civil War, were granted rights that they probably never dreamed of having in their slave days. They could now become citizens of the United States and have equal protection under the laws, while African American men of a certain age now had the right to vote. Each of these things represented both a great victory for the liberated people and the promise of a bright future. . During the 1870s and 1880s, these rights gradually diminished and were eventually taken away from African Americans thanks to Jim Crowlaws. Jim Crow laws were a set of laws that "relegated African Americans to the status of second-class citizens and represented the legitimization of anti-black racism." »1 These blacks lost their rights and were forced to do other work similar to slavery. . African Americans were now oppressed economically, socially, and politically, and the most common method was violence. In the late 1800s, lynching was clearly the most egregious and feared way to disenfranchise black people. In Ida B. Wells-Barnett's time, lynching was a racial terror. Black people of the time were often falsely accused of committing the most heinous crimes. The image... middle of paper ... was great and his contribution to everyone was timely and much needed. Ida B. Wells continued her good fight against mob violence and lynching and campaigned for black rights until her death on March 25, 1931. In conclusion, by being an activist for the voiceless by displaying her roles important leaders in African-American civil rights, Ida is still recognized today as a great journalist and activist. Her organizations that she started long ago, such as the NAACP and the National Association of Colored Women, continue to survive and help millions of people today. I will now close with a great quote from Ms. Ida. B. Wells-Barnett “the way to right wrongs is to shine the light of truth”,10 something she truly fought for and succeeded in helping to provide a better future for generations to come..