Ida B. Wells' birthday

On this day in 1862 Ida B. Wells was born. Wells fought for equality of women and African Americans—especially the equality of African American women in the suffragist movement. 71 years before Rosa Parks, Wells refused to give up her seat on a train, and when they made her move, she sued the railway company. She won her case in the local court but lost when the railroad took it to the Tennessee Supreme Court.  Her refusal to stand in the back of suffragist parades garnered her more media attention for her causes. As a further landmark for her time, Wells was one of the first married women to keep her own last name after marriage.