1890 – Ida B. Wells Publishes Anti-Lynching Editorial

On June 16, 1890, journalist and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells published a scathing editorial in The Free Speech, condemning the widespread lynching of Black Americans in the South. Triggered by the recent lynching of three of her friends in Memphis, Wells used her platform to challenge the lies that lynching was used to punish Black men accused of sexual assault. Her editorial declared the real motive: white economic and racial terror. The response was swift—her newspaper office was destroyed by a white mob, and she was forced to flee Memphis. Yet the date marked the beginning of Wells’s national anti-lynching crusade. Her June 16 editorial was a foundational moment in investigative journalism, blending fearless truth-telling with strategic activism. She would later tour Europe, publish detailed reports, and help found the NAACP. June 16 is remembered as a moment when silence gave way to a thunderous voice for justice.