How one journalist risked her life to hold murderers accountable - Christina Greer

Translator: Adela Yolanda Sekarningtyas Reviewer: Ade Indarta

In March of 1892,

Pada bulan Maret di tahun 1892,

three Black grocery store owners in Memphis, Tennessee,

tiga orang kulit hitam pemilik toko di Memphis, Tennessee,

were murdered by a mob of white men.

dibunuh oleh gerombolan orang-orang kulit putih.

Lynchings like these were happening all over the American South,

Hukuman tanpa pengadilan serupa terjadi di seluruh Amerika Selatan

often without any subsequent legal investigation

seringkali tanpa penyelidikan resmi lebih lanjut

or consequences for the murderers.

atau adanya konsekuensi bagi para pembunuhnya.

But this time,

Tetapi kali ini,

a young journalist and friend of the victims

seorang jurnalis muda yang merupakan teman korban

set out to expose the truth about these killings.

berusaha untuk menguak kebenaran dari pembunuhan tersebut.

Her reports would shock the nation

Laporannya akan mengejutkan masyarakat

and launch her career as an investigative journalist,

dan memulai kariernya sebagai jurnalis investigasi,

civic leader, and civil rights advocate.

pemimpin masyarakat, dan pengacara hak-hak sipil.

Her name was Ida B. Wells.

Dia adalah Ida B. Wells.

Ida Bell Wells was born into slavery in Holly Springs, Mississippi

Ida Bell Wells lahir dalam perbudakan di Holy Springs, Mississippi

on July 16, 1862, several months before the Emancipation Proclamation

pada 16 Juli 1862, beberapa bulan sebelum Proklamasi Emansipasi

released her and her family.

yang memerdekakan dia dan keluarganya.

After losing both parents and a brother to yellow fever at the age of 16,

Setelah kehilangan orang tuanya dan satu adik akibat demam kuning di usia 16 tahun,

she supported her five remaining siblings

dia menopang hidup 5 saudaranya yang tersisa

by working as a schoolteacher in Memphis, Tennessee.

dengan bekerja sebagai guru sekolah di Memphis, Tennessee.

During this time,

Dalam periode itu,

she began working as a journalist.

dia mulai bekerja sebagai jurnalis.

Writing under the pen name “Iola,”

Dengan nama pena "Iola,"

by the early 1890s she gained a reputation

di awal 1890an dia mendapat reputasi

as a clear voice against racial injustice

sebagai penyuara aktif melawan ketidakadilan rasisme

and become co-owner and editor

dan menjadi salah satu pemilik dan editor

of the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight newspaper.

Koran Memphis Free Speech and Headlight.

She had no shortage of material:

Dia tak kekurangan akan materi:

in the decades following the Civil War,

Di masa setelah Perang Saudara,

Southern whites attempted to reassert their power

orang kulit putih di Selatan berusaha berkuasa

by committing crimes against Black people

berbuat kriminal terhadap orang kulit hitam

including suppressing their votes,

termasuk mengekang suara mereka,

vandalizing their businesses, and even murdering them.

beraksi vandalisme pada bisnis mereka, dan bahkan membunuh mereka.

After the murder of her friends,

Setelah kematian teman-temannya,

Wells launched an investigation into lynching.

Wells melancarkan investigasi terhadap aksi pembunuhan tersebut.

She analyzed specific cases through newspaper reports and police records,

Dia menganalisa kasus spesifik melalui berita di koran dan arsip kepolisian,

and interviewed people who had lost friends and family to lynch mobs.

dan mewawancarai teman dan keluarga korban akibat aksi tersebut.

She risked her life to get this information.

Hidupnya menjadi taruhan untuk menggali informasi itu.

As a Black person investigating racially motivated murders,

Sebagai orang kulit hitam yang berkutat dengan pembunuhan rasial

she enraged many of the same southern white men involved in lynchings.

dia memicu emosi para pelaku yang terlibat di aksi tersebut.

Her bravery paid off.

Keberaniannya terbayar.

Most whites had claimed and subsequently reported

Mayoritas orang kulit putih mengklaim dan melapor

that lynchings were responses to criminal acts by Black people.

bahwa aksi itu sebagai balasan untuk orang kulit hitam.

But that was not usually the case.

Tetapi itu bukan kasus biasa.

Through her research,

Melalui pengamatannya,

Wells showed that these murders were actually a deliberate,

Wells menunjukkan aksi-aksi pembunuhan tersebut disengaja,

brutal tactic to control or punish black people who competed with whites.

taktik kejam untuk mengatasi orang kulit hitam yang berkompetisi dengan kulit putih

Her friends, for example,

Contoh, teman-temannya

had been lynched when their grocery store

dibunuh ketika toko mereka menjadi

became popular enough to divert business from a white competitor.

cukup terkenal untuk menyaingi bisnis orang kulit putih.

Wells published her findings in 1892.

Wells mempublikasi penemuannya di 1892.

In response, a white mob destroyed her newspaper presses.

Orang-orang kulit putih bereaksi dengan menghancurkan penerbit korannya.

She was out of town when they struck,

Dia berada di luar kota saat itu,

but they threatened to kill her if she ever returned to Memphis.

tetapi mereka mengancam akan membunuhnya jika dia kembali ke Memphis.

So she traveled to New York,

Oleh karenanya, dia pergi ke New York

where that same year she re-published her research in a pamphlet titled

di tahun yang sama dia menerbitkan ulang penelitiannya di sebuah pamflet berjudul

Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases.

Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases.

In 1895, after settling in Chicago,

Di tahun 1895, setelah menetap di Chicago,

she built on Southern Horrors in a longer piece called The Red Record.

dia mengembangkan Southern Horrors menjadi versi lebih panjang, The Red Record.

Her careful documentation of the horrors of lynching

Dokumentasinya yang hati-hati tentang aksi seram itu

and impassioned public speeches drew international attention.

dan pidato publik yang penuh semangat menarik perhatian internasional.

Wells used her newfound fame to amplify her message.

Wells menggunakan ketenarannya untuk menyiarkan pesannya.

She traveled to Europe,

Dia pergi ke Eropa,

where she rallied European outrage against racial violence in the American South

di mana ia bergabung dengan orang Eropa melawan aksi radikal di Amerika Selatan

in hopes that the US government and public would follow their example.

dengan harapan pemerintah AS dan publik akan melakukan hal yang sama.

Back in the US,

Sekembalinya di Amerika

she didn’t hesitate to confront powerful organizations,

ia tak ragu untuk mengkonfrontasi organisasi berpengaruh,

fighting the segregationist policies of the YMCA

melawan aturan segregasi YMCA

and leading a delegation to the White House

dan memimpin delegasi ke Gedung Putih

to protest discriminatory workplace practices.

untuk memprotes praktek diskriminasi di tempat-tempat kerja.

She did all this while disenfranchised herself.

Dia melakukan semua dengan risiko kehilangan hak pilihnya.

Women didn’t win the right to vote until Wells was in her late 50s.

Kaum wanita tak memenangkan hak pilih hingga Wells berusia akhir 50an.

And even then, the vote was primarily extended to white women only.

Dan bahkan setelahnya, hak pilih hanya berlaku untuk wanita kulit putih.

Wells was a key player in the battle for voting inclusion,

Wells adalah kunci utama di pertarungan untuk hak pilih dan

starting a Black women’s suffrage organization in Chicago.

mengawali organisasi hak pilih wanita kulit hitam di Chicago.

But in spite of her deep commitment to women’s rights,

Dibalik komitmen tingginya terhadap hak-hak perempuan,

she clashed with white leaders of the movement.

dia berselisih dengan para pemimpin kulit putih.

During a march for women’s suffrage in Washington D.C.,

Saat aksi untuk hak sipil wanita di Washington D.C.,

she ignored the organizers’ attempt to placate Southern bigotry

dia mengabaikan usaha pengelola acara untuk menenangkan kericuhan

by placing Black women in the back,

dengan menyisihkan wanita kulit hitam,

and marched up front alongside the white women.

dan menempatkan wanita kulit putih di posisi depan.

She also chafed with other civil rights leaders,

Ia juga bentrok dengan pemimpin hak sipil lainnya

who saw her as a dangerous radical.

yang menilai ia sebagai radikal berbahaya.

She insisted on airing, in full detail, the atrocities taking place in the South,

Ia bersikukuh menyiarkan tanpa celah, aksi kekejaman yang terjadi di Selatan,

while others thought doing so would be counterproductive

kontra dengan pendapat bahwa hal itu akan kontraproduktif

to negotiations with white politicians.

untuk bernegoisasi dengan politisi kulit putih.

Although she participated in the founding of the NAACP,

Meski ia berpartisipasi untuk berdirinya NAACP,

she was soon sidelined from the organization.

tak lama kemudian ia tergeser dari organisasi tersebut.

Wells’ unwillingness to compromise any aspect of her vision of justice

Keengganan Wells untuk berkompromi dengan aspek apapun pada pandangannya

shined a light on the weak points of the various rights movements,

menyinari titik lemah yang terjadi pada berbagai aksi hak lainnya,

and ultimately made them stronger—

dan berujung menguatkan mereka-

but also made it difficult for her to find a place within them.

tetapi juga susah baginya untuk memposisikan diri di antara mereka.

She was ahead of her time,

Dia memimpin di masanya,

waging a tireless struggle for equality and justice

melakukan perjuangan melelahkan demi persamaan dan keadilan

decades before many had even begun to imagine it possible.

jauh sebelum yang lain membayangkan kemungkinan tersebut.