Michelle Duster gives up an accessible and complex biography of Ida B, Wells, a woman responsible for changing history whose contributions are often overlooked. It's a biography that takes the reader on an emotional journey while sharing all the facts and should be required reading in all schools. This is the kind of history book we need.

Written by Ida B. Wells' great-granddaughter, this is an account of the important role Wells played is social disruption for social justice. I enjoyed reading about a historical figure--who I knew about in a peripheral way--through the lens of her descendant. Though there were important aspect of who Ida B. Wells was within the context of her own historical timeline, it was also interesting to see the echoes of her work in contemporary history. Unfortunately, I was also disconnected to the narrative and history by the disjointed timeline and was hoping for more insight from Duster. This seemed like a really cool genealogy project than biography.
Nevertheless, this was still an interesting profile of a woman who made a huge impact and whose legacy will continue to do so.

While it didn’t really follow the synopsis, I did enjoy this one. Although, I definitely would have appreciated if it were more of a biography of Ida B. Wells.

Yes Yes Yes to everything about this book! The illustrations are stunning, the book shines a light on a pocket of history often ignored. Besides learning about the amazing life of Ida B. Wells, her great-granddaughter, the author, shows a historical perspective on the Black struggle for political and social rights. Something that is still happening today. I would recommend this book for those of all ages!

This is a colorful book about an important historical figure. However, the narrative was difficult for the reader to feel committed to, as it attempts to include biography, current events, and editorializing. I applaud the young author, a relative of Ida B., for the effort in making this historical figure more familiar to younger readers.

𝐈𝐝𝐚 𝐁. 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐞𝐧: 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐄𝐱𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐜𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐈𝐝𝐚 𝐁. 𝐖𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐬 by Michelle Duster is a must read for everyone!
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In this book Duster, the great grand-daughter of Ida B. Wells provides a personal view of the legendary woman who was dedicated to combating inequality, violence and injustice against African-Americans.
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Also known as the Antilynching crusader, Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a journalist, educator, and early leader in the civil rights movement. As one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, Ida B. was one of the most famous Black women in this country during her time.
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Now I’m not going to lie, there were stories in this book that infuriated me! The injustices documented had me seeing red! Reading this book after witnessing the home grown terrorists that stormed Capitol Hill on January 6th allowed me to see that we are not far removed from what Ida B. fought against in the 1800-1900s. Mobs of white people invading territories as an act of intimidation has been used as a weapon throughout history. And as we can clearly see, history is repeating itself right before our very eyes. The release of this book could not have been at a better time. We must know and understand our history in order to prepare for our future.
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Current day topics such as Black Lives Matter Movement, as well as The Trump Presidency are also discussed.
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This is a very easy read. I didn’t find it boring like most books written about historical figures. Filled with copies of original documents, news papers articles and photographs, Duster does a phenomenal job of bringing Ida B. Wells to life. In this book I didn’t see Ida B. the legend, I saw Ida B. the woman. The story is personal. That’s what I like most about it.
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It is my belief that this book should be required reading for high schools across the country. Ida B. Wells was a remarkable woman that deserves to known by all! The way she fought for equal rights for Black Americans was absolutely remarkable.
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Thank you @atriabooks for gifting me this advance digital copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have always admired Ida B. Wells. She is inspiring for so many reasons and I find myself looking to her as one of the greatest feminists and equal rights activists ever. But this book didn't do it for me. It felt a little self-serving for the author and less about her grandmother. I wanted to feel inspired and motivated but I felt like I was reading more about the author's life than the legacy of Ida B. Wells. I hate to leave a negative review but I feel like the intention of the book wasn't executed that well and I can't say I enjoyed it all too much.

Ida B. the Queen started promising and turned into a disappointment. Ida is a phenomenal figure in history that doesn't get enough recognition. I was hoping to recommend this to others but it falls short. The writing is disjointed and sporadic. I can't figure out if this is a biography, semi-autobiography, history? In the middle of the sentence about Ida - the next page talks about Sarah Bartman, then Black Lives Matter. Since the author is a direct relative, I assumed she would add some personal elements or unknown details but that is also lacking. Unfortunately, I would not recommend it.