Ida B. Wells-Barnett: Leaving A Legacy

Ida B. Wells-Barnett, an influential woman, born from slave parents made a voice through her writings. Educated from Fisk University in Nashville Tennessee, she not only was an activist, she was also a teacher after the death of her parents.
A woman of social justice, she made known of the racial and politics in the South.

The turning point in which started her path to righteousness.... a journalist and activist 

The year 1884 started Ida B. Wells on her way to social justice. Being booted off a train from refusal to sit in the African American section, her case went through trial succeeded and then failed due to the supreme court. Her writings of issues on race and politics in the South blossomed in the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight, and later the Free Speech newspapers/periodicals that she owned. A vocal critic in the "black only" public schools in the city, and a writer of articles about the lynching of her friend brought Ida B. Wells to gather information from all over the South, although with threats to her life. This brought her to New York where she wrote for the New York Age and worked hand in hand with Frederick Douglas and William Mckinley.

Creating a Legacy 

Not only was Ida B. Wells-Burnett a vocal and expressive activist, she was also a creator, leaving behind several civil rights organizations. In being a part of the National Equal Rights League, she created the first African American kindergarten in her community and fought proudly for woman suffrage. Ida B. Wells-Burnett died on March 25th, 1931 from kidney disease with leaving her legacy as an influential journalist and activist.

Claude Barnett: The Original Newsman

Claude Barnett

Claude Barnett was an African American journalist known for creating "The Associated Negro Press". His publication last from 1919 to 1967. He was one of the most influential African Americans during the 1930's, and he served as a consultant to the United States Agriculture Department.

Personal Life

Barnett was born on September 16 1889 in Sanford, Florida to William Barnett and Celena Anderson. He then moved to Matton, Illinois to live with his grandmother. That is where he lived and went to school. In 1904 went to college at Tuskegee Institute. He graduated two years later in 1906. He died at the age of 78 due to cerebral hemorrhage. He died in his house on August 2 1967.

His newspaper

In 1913 Barnett started by reproducing photos of notable black people, and sold them. By 1917 his services became so popular that he had a thriving business dealing with mail in orders. He then went around the country to promote his photographs, catering mainly to a black audience. While advertising in mainly black newspapers he noticed a common trend, which is that they needed more substantive news. This caused him to create The Associated Negro Press, and it's main goal was to provide reliable and steady stream of news to news outlets. At first he bartered the news in exchange for advertising space, but he soon got a team of "stingers" who helped him get interesting news stories. He went on to charge $25 a week to provide news papers with the latest news.

Struggles and Difficulties

The most obvious difficulty Barnett faced was racism, there is a reason his business only catered to newspapers that catered to an African American community. In his travels he spoke of how racism affected his ability to gather news, and he often talked about the adverse affects of segregation. He also focused on the terrible living conditions of African Americans farmers that were tenants.

Claude Barnett: Revolutionizing African American Press

The Early Years

Claude Barnett was born in 1889 in Sanford, FL. After moving around to Illinois, he ultimately went on to college at the prestigious Tuskegee University graduating in 2 years with the universities highest award. After graduating in 1906 he went on to work for the postal service in Chicago.

The Development of His Career

Due to the nature of Barnett's career he had the ability to read many newspapers and magazines leading to his fascination in advertising. This interest led him to partner with a cosmetic firm, serving as their advertising manager. He focused on marketing in mainly African American newspapers and felt they had a lack of real news to report. As a result, Barnett decided to start the Associated Negro Press changing the face of African American press in America.

Changing the face of American press

In the beginning of its creating the ANP utilized the reports of other newspapers, however, Barnett eventually built his own team of reporters who were providing stories for newspapers across the country for up to 25$. At their peak the ANP was being used by over 200 newspapers including those over seas in Africa and the West Indies. The creation of this groundbreaking news wire service, is what truly separated Barnett from other notable African Americans in journalism. 

  

Anne O'Hare McCormick- Changing the 'Times' Forever

Anne Elizabeth O'Hare McCormick is famously known now as the first female to be a part of the editorial board for The New York Times. Prompting her to be the first female to win a Pulitzer prize for journalism.

Early Life

McCormick was born in May of 1882 in Wakefield, England. In her early childhood, her parents brought her to the United States where she attended college of St. Mary's in Columbus, Ohio.

Her Writing Career
She spent some time as editor for Catholic Universe Weekly, and then did some freelance work including poem and article contributions to magazines. After sending dispatches to The New York Times, she eventually became a regular corespondent.

Changing the Game
It seemed that McCormick always showed up to the right place at the right time, which is how she heavily got into reports on political crises and developments, including interviews with important figures- establishing her as "one of the most perspicacious observers on the European continent."

Eventually she got to sit on the board of the Times, making her the first female to sit on the boar as well as to win a Pulitzer.

If men could menstruate: Gloria Steinem feminist game changer.

Controversial articles on contraception, being a playboy bunny, and abortion

Gloria Steinem gained her rise to prominence in the sixties and seventies as a journalist promoting the women's liberation movement. Her first big article was based on contraception and how women were forced to choose between careers and families. She went on to cover very controversial topics such as abortion, and received positive as well as incredibly negative feedback, including threats on her life.

 She has written extensively about feminism, the feminist movement, and women's rights and inequalities.

Including several books, my personal favorite
"Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions"(1983), is a collection of her essays ranging from becoming a playboy bunny to her hilarious take on if men menstruated how the world would work. She continues to write and occasionally serves as an editor at Ms. Magazine which she co-founded in 1972. Her work continues to confront the inequalities women face on a daily basis.
 

Ida B. Wells-Barnett-African American Journalist and Activist

Ida B. Wells-Barnett was born on July 16, 1862 in Holly Springs, Mississippi. Her father was a skilled carpenter and her mother was cook. Ida's parents were very strict and religious. They took education seriously and wanted their children to take advantage of having the opportunity to go to school. 

Ida's struggles with racial discrimination caused her devote her life to eliminating this inequality. 

At the age of 14, Ida's parents and little brother died from yellow fever. To keep her family together, Ida took a teaching job and attending Rust College to further her education. In 1884, Ida was 

forcefully removed from a train due to her race, despite the 1875 Civil Rights Act. This was the first of many racial discrimination acts Ida endured during her life. In 1892, Ida's three friends were lynched, which caused Ida to spend the rest of her life working to end injustice towards colored people. 

Ida's many accomplishments were caused by her strong passion towards ending discrimination.

Later in her career, Ida created an anti-lynching campaign, the National Association of Colored Woman, the national Afro-American Council, and the Women's Era Club. She was a newspaper editor and owner, an African American journalist, a women's rights activist, a skilled rhetorician, and a civil rights leader. 

The Decline of the Participation Gap in the US

There is a significant digital divide and participation gap when it comes to technology but especially with Internet access.  I have been raised through technology and have always had access to the Internet at my own fingertips.  Others are so lucky, low-income families and immigrants have a harder time with access to the Internet.  Data collected in 2000 showed that 54 million or 51 percent of households in the US had one or more computers.  Low-income families have to go somewhere such as a library to get Internet access and don’t have easy access to get there.  Because the cost of computers is so high and the rates on Internet suppliers are also so high, families aren’t able to budget their money to afford it.  The digital divide I believe is gradually decreasing because the access to Internet is becoming easier because of smart phones, tablets, and computers.  More and more people are able to afford these technologies because the wide range of prices and choices.  People can buy used computers or phones for cheap and therefore they have an easy access to the Internet.  Even though I believe the gap is getting smaller, it still is very large and it will take some time for the gap to close. 

  

Right now the participation gap is very big.  People use the Internet for a wide variety of reasons.  A huge part of this gap has to do with education and the way you were raised with technology.  More and more schools are implementing the Internet and technology into their criteria and teaching styles.  When I was in elementary and middle school, I took typing classes and learned all different ways to use the Internet and computers.  Some people are as fortunate and do not have this in their schools.  Those who aren’t taught how to use the technologies when they are young are at a disadvantage are likely not to use the Internet or not know the ins and outs of it.  Another large part of the gap is the invention of smartphones.  People who don’t have a smartphone are at an instant disadvantage because they don’t have Internet access at their fingertips at all times and don’t have the ability to get apps.  Also because of privacy reason, people don’t want their personal information getting out on the Internet or someone stealing their identity.  Thus, people are less likely to get apps that have low security or seem sketchy. 

            Looking at the future, I believe the participation gap will rapidly become smaller.  Technologies are becoming so easy to access and almost all schools have computers and Internet access so that they can teach their students how to use it.  Smartphones and tablets are become less expensive and more people can afford them.  These devices allow people to access the Internet and extend the uses of the Internet.  People are going to use the Internet and technologies in different ways, some people are more advanced and others don’t know how to use them at all.  But in the future everyone will know how to use these technologies and internet access will become more and more available.  

W.E.B. Dubois' Struggles as a Journalist

  Dubois is a very important civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, sociologist, and journalist that created a change in history. Dubois was born and raised in Massachusetts, where racism was far less prevalent than the South. He went to college in Nashville, Tennessee at Fisk University where he became the first African American to earn a doctorate degree. He first experienced southern racism (which is much worse) in which Jim Crow laws, lynchings, and bigotry was popular in that area. He created many different essays, outlying the change that is needed in the United States at the time regarding African Americans and the rest of society. This created a lot of controversy, however Dubois kept writing his beliefs and thoughts down. One specific trial that Dubois had to endure, was that when he wrote for the American Historical Review, he asked the editor to capitalize the word Negro, and the author did not. Dubois endured these racial problems, but still continued to talk about the problems in America and inspired action. Information taken from the NAACP website, which is what Dubois helped to create.

WEB Du Bois: A Civil Rights Leader

Background on Du Bois
WEB Du Bois grew up in Massachusetts and experienced very little racism in his childhood. He became the first African American to earn his doctorate and later co-founded the NAACP in 1909. Du Bois played an integral role in the civil rights movement. He protested against lynchings, Jim Crow Laws, and discrimination in education and employment.

Du Bois and Journalism
In the early 1900s, American journalism virtually ignored African Americans. Eventually, the "American negro" became a symbol of democracy gone wrong, crime, and various monstrous acts. Du Bois had to overcome these racist stereotypes in order to make a difference as a journalist and civil rights leader. In 1906, when riots broke out in Atlanta and 25 blacks were killed, WEB Du Bois wrote articles/essays that influenced African Americans throughout the country. He urged them to no longer support the Republican Party because he did not agree with the actions of Republican politicians Teddy Roosevelt and William Howard Taft.

Lasting Effect
Du Bois was an effective leader and had a large influence on black culture in the early 1900s. He expressed his opinions through journalism so that his ideas could reach the masses. He was an activist for peace and civil rights, and his actions and writings affected generations of Americans.

Carl Rowan

Early Life

Born in Tennessee in 1925, Carl Rowan spent much of his childhood dealing with the “Jim Crow” laws in the South, but he still graduated as the valedictorian/class president of Bernard High School in 1942.

Starting a Career

Rowan was determined to graduate from college, which he paid for by working for a tuberculosis hospital. Eventually he received a master’s in journalism from Minnesota, using money earned by writing for the Minneapolis Spokesman and the St. Paul Recorder.

Accomplishments and Influence

In 1950, he became a general assignment reporter for the Minneapolis Tribune and became the first African American to win the “Outstanding Young Man” award. He wrote three well-received books, the first of which was entitled South of Freedom. He won the “Sigma Delta Chi” award three times, the only journalist to do so. He was appointed deputy assistant secretary of state for public affairs in 1961. Later in his career, Rowan won an Emmy for “Drug Abuse: America’s 64 Billion Dollar Curse,” a documentary.

Struggles

While Rowan reached about 100 different papers in his day, his life was not without adversity. He was rejected from the prestigious Cosmos Club for racial reasons, and his application was never revisited after a non-discriminatory law was passed. At 62, he shot and wounded a trespassing teenager. The gun wasn't legally his, and ironically, he was a strict gun control supporter. The hypocrisy charges were dropped, and Rowan maintained that he was still in favor of more gun control.

Anne O'Hare McCormick

Background

Anne O'Hare McCormick (1880-1954) was a foreign news correspondent for the New York Times. She was born in Yorkshire, England, and was then brought to American as an infant. After graduating from the College of Saint Mary of the Springs in Columbus, Ohio, she got a job as an associate editor for the Catholic Universe Bulletin, which was her only journalistic experience, before she began her association with The Times in 1922. In 1911, she married Mr. McCormick, a Dayton engineer, who frequently travelled abroad. The absorption of information during the travels with her husband was one of the key factors of her success in her career as a journalist.

The first woman to serve as a regular contributor to the editorial page of New York Times

At the time when in the field of journalism were mostly men, it was hard for a woman to become a long- term journalist for a newspaper, not to mention serving as a regular contributor to the editorial page of New York Times. But McCormick made it. She even became the first woman ever be appointed to the previously eight-man editorial board of the paper. Ahead of the outbreak of World War II, McCormick interviewed many of the most powerful political leaders such as Italian Prime Minister Benito Mussolini, German leader Adolf Hitler, Soviet Premier Joseph Stalin, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom Winston Churchill, President of the United States Franklin D. Roosevelt, Popes Pius XI and XII. 

Style of work

During the 1930s and 1940s, McCormick emerged as one of the most prominent journalists of her time. Her excellent style of work had become a great model in the field of journalism. During her interviews, she listened carefully instead of taking notes, and her manner was always quiet, intelligent, and penetrating. She treated important figures as human beings, which became the reason why they admired and respected her so much.

W.E.B. Du Bois: Challenger of Oppression

Background

W.E.B. Du Bois was born in western Massachusetts in 1868. As a child, Du Bois experience very little racism and this led to him flourishing in education. His immense education ensured his eventual doctorate from Harvard, where he was the first African-American to ever do so. Some of his life achievements include being a professor at Atlanta University of history, sociology, and economics, helping co-found the NAACP, being the leader of the Niagara Movement, his extensive and prolific publishing career, as well as active fight against racism, colonialism, imperialism, and various other world issues.

The Niagara Movement and the NAACP

This movement, which got its start in southern ontario right outside of Buffalo, NY, was the stepping stone for the creation of the NAACP. What the Niagara Movement did was get many African-American men and women, as well as White men and women together to discuss and oppose racial segregation and disenfranchisement. Beyond this, their principles included suffrage for women, civil and economic opportunities, as well as decent housing and education access. Due to lack of funds this group could only sustain itself for about six years (1905-1911) where they then joined with white progressives to for the NAACP.

The NAACP credits Du Bois' writing as "[directing] a constant stream of agitation--often bitter and sarcastic--at white Americans while serving as a source of information and pride to African Americans".

Notable Works and Awards

Du Bois and Mao Zedong in 1959,
after having his passport returned to him

Du Bois is seen as influential through not only advocacy, but also through his extensive writings. His most notable works include The Souls of Black Folk and Black Reconstruction in America. The Souls of Black Folk is recognized as a cornerstone in African-American literature and one of the earliest works dealing with sociology. Black Reconstruction in America deals with the Reconstruction after the Civil War and documents how unfairness in race was one of the main causes to economic disparity and the eventual rise of the Jim Crow laws and other horrible inequalities. 

Further Du Bois is recognized for his socialist and peaceful ties. Du Bois was anti-war and remained that way for his life. This ideology made him firm and a thinker. He helped Pan-Africanism and many other colored nations throughout the world, not all African, many Asian. 

Some award include the Spingarn Medal from the NAACP, Lenin Peace Prize from the USSR, and many other posthumously for his contribution to world politics and especially African American advancement.