Ida B. Wells Gets Her Roses, And Chicago Gets Its First Monument Honoring Black Woman

“Light of Truth” will be the first monument, and second tribute overall, honoring a Black woman in Chicago. The first tribute is a bust of poet Gwendolyn Brooks in Bronzeville.

By Meha Ahmad
Ida B. Wells Thumbnail
(Ida B. Wells portrait courtesy Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library) Katherine Nagasawa / WBEZ
Ida B. Wells Thumbnail
(Ida B. Wells portrait courtesy Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library) Katherine Nagasawa / WBEZ

Ida B. Wells Gets Her Roses, And Chicago Gets Its First Monument Honoring Black Woman

“Light of Truth” will be the first monument, and second tribute overall, honoring a Black woman in Chicago. The first tribute is a bust of poet Gwendolyn Brooks in Bronzeville.

By Meha Ahmad
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Ida B. Wells was born into slavery and would become one of the country’s most influential journalists and an early leader in the fight for civil rights. After moving to Chicago in 1894, she continued her work advancing Black equality and success. And now, the city will finally get a sculpture in her name.

Reset talks to Wells’ great-granddaughter and the sculptor behind the new “Light Of Truth” monument, which is set to be unveiled Wednesday in Bronzeville.

GUESTS: Michelle Duster, great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells and author of Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells

Richard Hunt, sculptor of the “Light Of Truth” monument