Ida

Synopsis:

Ida B. Wells was born into slavery in the deep South in 1862.

With the end of the Civil War, she and her family were freed.  But soon after, when she was just 16, her parents and one of her siblings died in a typhoid epidemic, leaving her in charge of the remaining siblings who couldn’t be fostered out.

She worked incredibly hard as both a teacher and a carer (one of her sisters was disabled) until, at the age of 22, she was told by a white train conductor that she couldn’t travel in the ladies’ car because she was black.  She bit his hand, fought like a wildcat against three men, was thrown off the train and sued the railroad.

She won the case in the lower court, but this verdict was reversed in the highly racist State Supreme Court.

For Ida, this was  a turning point.  She gave up teaching and became a journalist, calling out the appalling behaviour of white supremacists in the South.  Despite threats to her life, she travelled the entire country (indeed, the world) giving talks in order to make the world aware of the atrocities being perpetrated upon her people.

She spent the remainder of her life fighting tooth and nail for black rights (remarkably successfully, given what she was up against), particularly in the area of anti-lynching legislation.  Her work in this regard extended well beyond mere words, setting in motion a series of organizations to render practical assistance to black people and, in so doing, giving others courage and inspiration to continue the fight.

And yet today, when Martin Luther King Jnr is a household name with a national holiday to his credit, Ida B. Wells is barely known.

This is her story.

Character Breakdown:

The play is a one-hander: 1 female (African American)

IDA B. WELLS

Setting:

IDA’S study – filled with piles of boxes of documents, as well as documents and press clippings all over the floor.

Atop an old desk is an ancient, well-worn typewriter, as well as all the paraphernalia you’d expect in an office of the time.

Running-time: 70 minutes.

Production History: Not yet produced.

Excerpt available to download for free.