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PAGE 8 Special Spring Issue 2021 By Sylvia Mendoza, Contributing Writer Shedding light on injustice was a way of life for activist Ida B. Wells. As an investigative journalist, she wrote of the horror of lynchings, indignities, and violence she witnessed against Black people. As cofounder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), she spoke out against the atrocities of systemic racism. As a suffragist, she marched and protested for a woman's right to vote, refusing to walk behind white women leading the cause. "She was on a rampage to tell the whole world of the atrocities being committed," says Michelle Duster, who is Ida B. Wells's great-granddaughter and author of the newly released Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells. "She clearly knew she was facing danger and continued writing and speaking out against injustice. By her actions, she felt the fight was worth potentially dying for." Wells was born in 1862 in Mississippi and died in Chicago in 1931. She blazed trails along the way. In the book, Caitlin Dickerson of The New York Times states, "Wells is considered by historians to have been the most famous Black woman in the United States during her lifetime." Duster found inspiration in Wells's personal diaries, family stories, writings, and noted achievements. She writes that Wells was often overlooked and underestimated but made her mark by committing herself to the needs of those who did not have power. Today, generations later, there are women—activists—who have taken up her cause and carry on her legacy, trying to shed light on the truth. Carrying the Torch People had big expectations for Duster and her siblings to be like Wells, but her parents encouraged them to find their own paths. Duster came full circle, connecting to activism in college for different reasons than Wells. "I became more aware of how powerful media images are in shaping attitudes, which can affect policies, so I wanted to get involved in helping to shape those images to more closely reflect the reality of Black people's lives and experiences." And Duster was on her own way, on her own social justice journey. Reclaiming Our Own Narrative For Black History Month, Duster was interviewed at Charis Books, a feminist bookstore, by Dr. Catherine Meeks, the retired Clara Carter Acree Distinguished Professor of Socio-Cultural Studies at Wesleyan College and the Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing. A strong advocate for social justice, community, and wellness, Meeks is the author of several books, including Passionate for Justice: Ida B. Wells as Prophet for Our Times and Living into God's Dream: G E N E R A T I O N S O F A C T I V I S M WHAT ONE WOMAN CAN DO