African American women were the early leaders in one of the great American movements for justice--the movement to end lynching. Thousands of African Americans were lynched and tortured, particularly in the 1890’s and the following decades. Lynching terrorized Black communities, prevented the exercise of civil rights and thus preserved white supremacy for generations.
In 1892, Ida B. Wells, an African American journalist ignited the anti-lynching movement when she exposed in print how widespread the lynchings were. With her life threatened, she left Memphis and embarked on a national campaign to to mobilize people against this American barbarity.
By 1893, Ridley had committed herself to the struggle to end lynching--writing, speaking and organizing events. A year later, Ridley and her mother, Josephine St. Pierre Ruffin, began publishing the Women’s Era, the first newspaper by and for African American women. Every issue covered the growing anti-lynching movement. In 1899 Ridley and a colleague organized a particularly large anti-lynching protest meeting in Boston, with both white and Black speakers. African American newspapers across the country spread the encouraging news of this 1899 Boston protest, as seen in the newspaper image below.
Ridley worked hard to keep whites as allies--which they had been during the struggle against slavery--but it wasn’t easy. Ridley called out white leaders who were not allies on lynching. She publicized the fact that the the president of the influential Women’s Christian Temperance Union believed lynchings were “sometimes necessary”. In another instance, Ridley published a long public letter in the Boston Globe criticizing a very well-known white reformer, Mrs. Ormiston Chant. She had prevented the Unitarian Church from taking a stand on lynching. In this widely circulated letter, Ridley undermined the racist myths about lynchings, then reminded her (white) audience of the common values all Americans hold dear:
“All that we ask for is justice, not mercy or palliation—simple justice. Surely that is not too much for loyal citizens of a free country to demand.”
“…in the interest of common humanity, in the interest of justice, for the good name of our country, we solemnly raise our voices against the horrible crimes of lynch laws…and we call upon Christians everywhere to do the same, or be branded as sympathizers with the murderers.”
“…in the interest of common humanity, in the interest of justice, for the good name of our country, we solemnly raise our voices against the horrible crimes of lynch laws…and we call upon Christians everywhere to do the same, or be branded as sympathizers with the murderers.”
Violence against African Americans has continued. African American women continue to play leading roles in the resistance to violence, including the women who founded Black Lives Matter.
Further Reading
To read Ridley’s full letter/essay about lynching , go to one of these sources:
- the award-winning anthology New Daughters of Africa
- the Boston Globe 5/24/1894.
- Ida B. Wells autobiography, Crusade for Justice