Ida B. Wells: The Journalist Who Fought for Justice | Leo & Layla | PragerU Kids

[Music] uh what's wrong layla i joined the school newspaper and now i've got to write an editorial on the importance of investigative journalism whatever that is that's so cool no it's not why i don't know anything about investigative journalism i just joined the paper because this really cute boy ethan is the student editor that means he's like the captain i know what an editor is i read the news every day layla well i just wanted to sit next to ethan at the meetings and i did but then he asked me to write this editorial investigative journalism what are these things an editorial is your opinion about a topic an investigative journalism is when a reporter does a lot of research on a topic and writes about it it's usually to focus attention on something that's wrong like crime or political corruption i guess that sounds important but i still don't know enough to write about it maybe we could find someone who could help with the app yeah great idea are you an investigative journalist well that's one of the things i'm known for i'm ida b wells i'm a journalist and a speaker welcome to chicago in 1894. oh wow i think i heard your name in my history class miss wells i'm layla and this is my brother leo layla has to write an editorial for a school newspaper about investigative journalism do you think you could help me with it sure thing investigating to find the truth and then writing about my findings are my life's biggest passions will you tell us about your life and your writing i'd be happy to i was born in mississippi in 1862 and just like my parents i was born a slave i had to endure a lot of hardships growing up in the south during reconstruction but i worked hard made good choices and managed to become the co-owner and editor of a newspaper in memphis tennessee so that's where you did investigative journalism that's right one of the things i always say is the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them that's why i called my newspaper the free speech and headlight investigative journalism is all about finding the truth and writing about it freedom of information will help make america and the world a better place for all of us what did you write about i continue to write about the many injustices black people in the south were going through even after they were freed from slavery such as horrible acts of violence against black men called lynching i don't know what that is but it sounds bad it's downright evil sometimes the white people in a community in the south accuse a black man of a crime then without any kind of trial they form a mob and kill him the local authorities usually let them get away with it that's what lynching is that's just awful yes it is but i've been researching and interviewing witnesses to the crimes and because we have freedom of the press in america i've been able to write about it people in america and all over the world read what i write and now they are organizing to try and stop lynching so if you hadn't done all of that investigating and we didn't have freedom of the press maybe no one would have known what was going on that's true our rights like freedom of the press freedom of speech and of assembly are so precious because they ensure our ability to speak out against injustice i always fought against injustice even after people broke into the free speech and headlight offices burned my printing presses and drove me from memphis i moved north to new york and chicago and i keep on writing and speaking you're very brave miss wells thank you but my writing is just one of the things i do to help black people gain their full rights in america what else did you do back in 1884 i was on a train and the conductors tried to make me move from the first class ladies car to the smoking car just because of the color of my skin i refused to give it my seat so the conductors dragged me away to the smoking car wow you did that back in 1884. that story doesn't end there i was so upset about that kind of treatment that i wrote articles about it and ensued the railroad i won the lawsuit at first but the tennessee supreme court reversed the ruling that doesn't sound fair to me me either but i've continued writing and working to try and get black people all the rights they deserve as americans i investigate i write and i get my work published even though there are a lot of people who didn't want to hear what i had to say i get it now what's that when reporters like miss wells work hard to expose bad things that are going on they're using our constitutional right of free speech and a free press lots of people might be made uncomfortable by what a brave and honest reporter exposes but like we've learned today the way to right wrongs is to turn the light of truth upon them that's exactly right thanks miss wells i'm going to write my editorial about you and why the kind of reporting you did is so important happy to help if you are interested in time traveling again please 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