Wells Lobbies Congress for Federal Anti-Lynching Law, Is Refused

Returning from Britain with international backing, Ida B. Wells lobbies members of Congress for federal anti-lynching legislation, presenting her documented statistics. She meets with President Cleveland and congressional leaders. Cleveland expresses sympathy and does nothing. Congress declines to act on any anti-lynching bill. Wells' lobbying establishes the model that the NAACP will follow for the next forty years — ultimately unsuccessfully until 2022.