In the post-civil war American south, the despicable act of lynching was commonplace and considered to be a form of vigilantism that was used to murder African Americans for alleged crimes ranging from acting suspiciously to insulting whites . In Wells’ 1892 book Southern Horrors - Lynch Law in All its Phases , Ida Bell Wells-Barnett describes many horrific instances when the law turned a blind eye to the barbaric practice of lynching, in an attempt to galvanise the public into action and put a stop to it once and for all. Ida Bell Wells-Barnett (1862-1931) was an American educator, investigative journalist, and leading figure of the civil rights movement. Having been born into slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Wells was freed in 1862 during the American Civil War by the Emancipation Proclamation. From then on she dedicated her life as a free woman to fighting prejudice and violence, founding the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and becoming the most famous American black person of her time. Contents include: A Letter, by Hon. Fred. Douglass , The Offense , The Black and White of it , The New Cry , The Malicious and Untruthful White Press , The South’s Position , and Self-Help . Other notable works by this author include: The Red Record (1895) and Mob Rule in New Orleans (1900). Read & Co. History is proudly republishing this classic work now in a brand new edition complete with introductory chapters by Irvine Garland Penn and T. Thomas Fortune.