Ida B. Wells: Let the Truth Be Told by Walter Dean Myers<\/a> is one of our new favorite books, both because Ida B. Wells was an absolute powerhouse of a woman and also because it helped my children place all sorts of other people and events in historical context.\u00a0<\/p>\n Ida was born enslaved to enslaved parents in 1862, and she and her parents experienced freedom with the Emancipation Proclamation. Since we have been reading a lot of books about Juneteenth recently, I was able to tie that into the time period.\u00a0<\/p>\n She was also friends with both Frederick Douglass and Susan B. Anthony, the two main players in my oldest’s favorite book, Friends for Freedom<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n When she stood up against school segregation, she recruited the support of Jane Addams, the founder of Hull House and basically is to the Social Work field what Florence Nightengale is to Nursing (and – shameless plug – one of the people featured in the July 2023 – June 2024 Radical Agenda Planner for Kids<\/a>).\u00a0<\/p>\n I especially appreciated how the author mentioned how, even when working to advance the cause of Women’s Suffrage, she was still discriminated against and asked to not stand with the white women. It’s an important detail because it can serve as a warning. Historically, Black women have been leaders fighting for important advances in women’s movements (suffrage, family planning, etc) but would not get the credit for their efforts.\u00a0<\/p>\n It is 2023, and we give credit where credit is due. Thank you, Walter Dean Myers, for highlighting Ida B. Wells.\u00a0<\/p>\n <\/p>[\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″ _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”][et_pb_code _builder_version=”4.15.1″ _module_preset=”default” global_colors_info=”{}”]