Ida and the Prize

It’s about time. On May 4, 2020, it was announced that Ida B. Wells Barnett had received a posthumous Special Citation Pulitzer Prize for journalism. Wells had a much fuller life than can be described here. But several of her outstanding characteristics continue to appeal and inspire: the crusading journalist, savvy newspaper owner, piercing orator, organizer of tactical genius, pioneer of marriage equality and working mother –in short, a woman ahead of her time.