Faculty Member Publishes Book on the Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells

Faculty member Michelle Duster's book, Ida B. the QueenFaculty member Michelle Duster's book, Ida B. the Queen
Great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells pens book about the civil rights activist

 

Columbia College Chicago faculty member and great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells, Michelle Duster, has written a book on the life and legacy of her great-grandmother.

Duster’s book, Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells shares stories of the well-known civil rights champion including some from her childhood in Mississippi and from her later work as a journalist and anti-lynching crusader. She also incorporates current information to draw a direct line between the past and the present. 

“When most people think about the fight for civil rights, they think of the 1960s,” says Duster. “But it is important to learn about those who started the struggle for justice and equality a century before, right after the Civil War. My great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells, was one of them.

“Writing about my great-grandmother gives me perspective on how long African Americans have been struggling for justice and equality. It is inspiring to learn about times that were more challenging than what we are living through now and how the sense of defiance combined with hope has driven progress.”

Ida B. the Queen, published by Simon & Schuster, is available for pre-sale and will be released in January 2021.

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Daisy Franco
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