Defending Our Name Summary and Analysis

Black women find they need to defend themselves, though there are limited forums for doing so. Fannie Barrier Williams is one of few Black women who belongs to the Chicago Women's Club, and when Williams is invited as a speaker at the World Columbian Exposition of 1893, she gets right to the point, saying that Black women are victimized and that it's up to all women to protect this group. Her implication is that the abusers, White men, could be controlled by White women. Ida B. Wells, along with Frederick Douglass and Ferdinand Barnett, produce a pamphlet addressing the omission of Blacks from the Exposition.

As Wells travels in Europe, it's obvious she is touting the need for anti-lynching laws in America. Another American activist, Frances Willard, is in Europe at the same time. Wells cites Willard's statements...