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Gentlemen of the National Press Association, you have the press — what will you do with it? Upon your answer depends the future welfare of your race. Can you stand in comparative idleness, in purposeless wrangling, when there is earnest, practical, united work to be done?

— Ida B. Wells Requirements of Southern Journalism (1892)

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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.