Ida B. Wells Becomes Editor of Memphis Free Speech

Ida B. Wells became co-owner and editor of the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight, building its circulation from 1,500 to 4,000 readers in three years. She used the paper to document racial injustice and challenge segregation, writing under the pen name 'Iola.' Her courageous editorship made her the leading Black female journalist of the era before the 1892 lynching of her friends forced her exile.