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The government which had made the Negro a citizen found itself unable to protect him. It gave him the right to vote, but denied him the protection which should have maintained that right.

— Ida B. Wells The Red Record (1895)

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More quotes by Ida B. Wells

The mob spirit has grown with the increasing intelligence of the Afro-American.

The nineteenth century lynching mob cuts off ears, toes, and fingers, strips off flesh, and distributes portions of the body as souvenirs among the crowd.

Words of Fire: An Anthology of African-American Feminist Thought (1995)

A Winchester Rifle should have a place of honor in every black home.

There is nothing we can do about the lynching now, as we are out-numbered and without arms.

The only times an Afro-American who was assaulted got away has been when he had a gun and used it in self-defense.

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Attribution

Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Ida B. Wells (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.