Ida B. Wells marches for the vote

Although Ida B. Wells might be best known for her tireless work as an investigative journalist on Black lynchings throughout the U.S. and subsequent anti-lynching campaigns, she's featured in this picture-book biography for another one of her passionate causes: women's suffrage. Jordan's colorful oil paintings set decisive scenes, such as her father losing his job for exercising his right to vote and Wells fighting in a courtroom after a train conductor forced her to give up her paid first-class seat. Johnson's thoughtful, short descriptions, in turn, emphasize Wells' character with such refrains as "That was a bold thing to do." Together they lead up to March 3, 1913, when over 5,000 marchers gathered in Washington, DC, to walk for women's right to vote. For some, however, suffrage meant the right to vote for white women, and Johnson details more of Ida's courage as she takes a prominent place among the marchers to represent Black women, too. Concluding photos, an author's note, and a time line add historical context to Ida B. Wells' multifaceted fight for civil rights.

Born in Mississippi just a few months shy of the Emancipation Proclamation, suffragist Ida B. Wells (1862--1931) experiences what is "not a perfect freedom"--growing up in a Black family denied the right to vote. After Wells's father is fired for voting even after the 15th Amendment makes it legal, Johnson writes, Wells follows her parents' example and "always tried to do the right thing." She becomes a teacher to care for her surviving siblings after their parents' deaths, decries the evils of lynching via newspaper articles, and organizes the alpha Suffrage Club, which sought to secure Black women the vote. Traveling to Washington, D.C., for a 1913 march to demand the right to vote for women, and relegated to the rear of the parade, Wells boldly winds her way to the front of the crowd, "marching, marching, marching for the vote." Jordan's stylized oil on cloth artwork gives a handmade feel to this account of one woman's courageous acts. An author's note concludes. Ages 5--9. (Jan.)

Gr 2--4--Johnson writes with the conviction of Ida B. Wells and her inherent beliefs about right and wrong. From a very young age, Wells took over as head of household, teaching to earn money for her orphaned siblings before becoming a writer who would publish wherever and however she could to get her opinions out, even buying an interest in a news journal she wrote for. After necessarily telescoped coverage of Wells in her other roles, and how often she did the "right" thing or the "bold" thing in the name of sticking to her beliefs, the book centers on the suffragettes who marched for the women's vote in Washington, D.C. in 1913; they were from all over the country, united by their goal, but another ugly division had appeared: the white suffragettes only cared about the vote for white women. Despite this, Wells joined the march and others like it, always going with what was right in the long term. Johnson is careful to lay the groundwork for her subject's many fine moments. Jordan's illustrations, electing for a rough folk-art look over anything like realism in the faces and bodies of the marchers, make this seem out of a dream until the moment when Wells serenely takes her place at the front of the line. Back matter invites readers to learn more through the resources listed, and also includes a time line of Wells's life. VERDICT Until her name is as familiar as Abraham Lincoln's, we can't have too many books about Wells; pair this with Michelle Duster's extraordinary Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth.--Kimberly Olson Fakih

Johnson's compelling text tells the inspirational true story of a Black suffragist who fought injustice all her life. This biography of Wells begins with her birth in 1862, a year before the Emancipation Proclamation freed her parents. The Fifteenth Amendment nominally enfranchised Black men, but after Ida's father voted for the first time, his white boss fired him, which led him to open his own business, Wells's Carpentry. At sixteen, Ida lost her parents and younger brother to yellow fever, and she began teaching and pursuing an education to support her siblings. Wells refused to accept discriminatory laws or the racist treatment of Black citizens on public transportation and fought against the brutal practice of lynching. The last half of the book focuses on her suffrage work, including her founding of the Alpha Suffrage Club and participation in the 1913 march of the National American Woman Suffrage Association -- an association that fought exclusively for white women's suffrage. Wells and other women of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, including Mary Church Terrell, participated to show that they, too, required the vote. Jordan's skillfully crafted oil on cloth illustrations effectively capture the historical era in which Wells lived and the determination she showed regardless of the challenge. The detailed back matter -- including an author's note, a timeline, photographs, and source notes -- offers readers ample resources for learning more about a person and history that all young people should know. Michelle H. MartinJanuary/February 2024 p.115 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A tribute to a tireless African American journalist and crusader for social justice. Presenting her subject as a woman who learned the importance of doing "the right thing" from her parents and tallying her achievements up to the eve of World War I, Johnson mentions her anti-lynching campaign in passing but really focuses on her women's suffrage work--and in particular her defiance of the racist stance taken by Alice Paul and the all-white National American Woman Suffrage Association. Quoting Paul's "despicable" assertion that the planned Washington, D.C., march of 1913 "must have a white procession, or a Negro procession, or no procession at all," the author heatedly comments that the Association "did not care about African American, Asian American, or Mexican American women. They were not concerned about Indigenous women, whose ancestors were the first to live on this land." Nonetheless, once the march began, Wells stepped out of the crowd of spectators and "did the brave and bold and truthful thing" by joining her state's contingent uninvited. The bold stare Wells directs out from the climactic final scene challenges viewers to realize that when it comes to gender and racial equality, there's still work to be done. Young activists in search of role models will find much to admire in this tough, courageous woman. (photos, timeline, source lists) (Picture-book biography. 6-9) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.