Ida B. Wells (18621931) was an African American journalist and active member of the civil rights movement. Initially born into slavery, she gained her freedom due to the Emancipation Proclamation. As a teenager, her family was ravaged by yellow fever, which claimed her mother, father and brother. Wells began supporting herself as a teacher, and eventually a journalist for a local newspaper. She often highlighted racial injustice with features such as Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases. Due to her commitment to race and gender equality, Wells received multiple awards including a posthumous Pulitzer Prize.