Abolitionist, journalist, suffragist, and civil rights activist Ida B. Wells-Barnett spent more than half of her life in Chicago. But though she was one of the most prominent black leaders of the 19th and 20th centuries, there’s no monument to her anywhere in the city. Wells’s great-granddaughter and a dedicated group of community members have been trying to change that since 2011, and a new fund-raising push launched on Twitter this week has infused their quest with new urgency.
Duster is hopeful that after years of fund-raising efforts the #IdaPledge push will finally get the monument fund to its $300,000 goal. The committee has selected renowned Chicago sculptor Richard Hunt (who already has several public artworks around the city) to create an abstract monumental sculpture that will incorporate Wells’s image at different ages, her writing, and information about her life. The money will cover the cost of materials—Hunt has historically worked in metals like steel, bronze, and iron—as well as construction permits. The proposed site in Bronzeville sits at the heart of what was once the Ida B. Wells public housing development—the first public housing constructed for African-American families in the city—and is now the Oakwood Shores mixed-income community. After its completion, the monument will be donated to the city’s public art collection.
Duster and Kaba now hope to raise the last $180,000 needed for the monument by Wells’s birthday—July 16. Donations are tax-deductible and can be made at idabwellsmonument.org.
