For our 5th Anniversary, the She Owns It She Biz Conference proudly celebrates Ida B. Wells as our She’s History highlight. She was a fearless truth-teller, a champion for justice, and a powerful figure with a deep connection to Chicago. Born into slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi, in 1862, Wells rose from unimaginable adversity to become one of the most influential investigative journalists and civil rights leaders of her time. After losing her parents to yellow fever at just 16 years old, she stepped up to raise her siblings, demonstrating strength and responsibility long before the world would come to know her name.
Ida B. Wells courageously led a nationwide anti-lynching campaign in the 1890s after three of her friends were brutally murdered in Memphis. Through investigative reporting, pamphlets such as A Red Record, and international speaking tours, she exposed the economic and racial motives behind lynchings and forced the nation to confront its violence and injustice. Her fearless journalism led to her printing press being destroyed by a mob, yet she refused to be silenced. She later became a co-founder of the NAACP, fought tirelessly for women’s suffrage, and continued her activism after settling in Chicago. Her life’s work helped lay the foundation for civil rights movements that would follow, and she was posthumously awarded a Pulitzer Prize for her extraordinary contributions.
At the She Owns It She Biz Conference, we believe it is essential to recognize our ancestors not only for what they endured but also for what they built. The freedoms, opportunities, and platforms we stand on today were made possible by the courage, sacrifice, and vision of women like Ida B. Wells. Celebrating her reminds us that advocacy requires boldness, leadership requires resilience, and progress requires persistence. When we acknowledge the shoulders we stand on, we gain clarity about our responsibility to continue advancing women, uplifting our culture, and impacting the world with purpose.
