It’s Official!

It’s official! The Mississippi Press Association will induct Ida B. Wells into its Hall of Fame.

Mrs. Wells is by many accounts the greatest journalist Mississippi has ever produced. Born in Holly Springs, she moved to Memphis to teach school. In 1892, when a white mob lynched Mrs. Wells’ friend and successful grocery man Thomas Moss, she chose to write about it. So began her life-long career investigating—and debunking the lies of—the era of American lynching.

I’ve been writing about Ida B. Wells in this blog since 2016. She became my hero long before that. Way back in 2009, Myron Lowry, as the temporary mayor of Memphis, proposed an Ida B. Wells monument. I was already a fan. I did not yet know the term “intersectionality,” but I admired Mrs. Wells’ fight against disrespect from white women in the suffrage battle and disrespect from Black men in the racial equality battle. Both sides, y’all. Coming and going. When I read the collection of her writings, Light of Truth, I understood how deeply she had been forced to persevere in her fight. She kept at it until she won.

Blame my ancestor Ellen Hebron for my interest in Mrs. Wells and the Mississippi Press Association. My great-great-grandmother Ellen was from Mississippi. A writer, Ellen published two books and many poems and essays in newspapers across the state. Her writing period overlapped with that of Mrs. Wells. Unlike Mrs. Wells, Ellen did not write about lynching, even though Ellen’s husband was a lyncher. Yet, the MPA made Ellen an honorary member of the association (or its predecessor; it’s varyingly reported.) It seemed only fair to me that the MPA honor Mrs. Wells too. So I asked the Association: have y’all honored Mrs. Wells? If not, might you?

No, the MPA Executive Director, said the Association had not honored Mrs. Wells. But, yes, the idea had been discussed. For several years, I stayed in contact with the MPA as the association moved toward making the possibility of honoring Mrs. Wells a reality.

Now it’s official. It’s about to happen.

The induction ceremony will held be on June 26 at the Association’s annual meeting.

I will be there.