""Lynching is the greatest disgrace in our history, and Ida Wells-Barnett was its most courageous assailant. James West Davidson has written an eloquent account of the growth of Wells-Barnett's self-defined persona as a black woman, journalist, and fearless crusader. Refusing to accept an identity shaped by others--'they say'--she boldly told the world that 'I say' who I am and what I stand for."--James McPherson, author of The Battle Cry of Freedom and The Mighty Scourge"
""How did Ida Wells become the woman who challenged the silence of America on lynching? James Davidson shows us by re-creating the world of African Americans during the turbulent decades after the Civil War. A touching, compelling portrait of an important life in crucial times."--H.W. Brands, University of Texas at Austin, author of Andrew Jackson and The Money Men"
Foreword Acknowledgments Prologue: "Does This Look Natchel?" One: Into a Changing World Two: A Moral Education Three: Unladylike Lady Four: Edged Tools Five: Ambition to Edit Six: They Say Seven: Do Something Eight: Exiled Afterword Selected Bibliography Index
