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

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

In March of 1892,

U martu 1892. godine,

three Black grocery store owners in Memphis, Tennessee,

tri crnca, vlasnika prodavnice namirnica u Memfisu u Tenesiju,

were murdered by a mob of white men.

ubila je grupa belaca.

Lynchings like these were happening all over the American South,

Linčovanja poput ovog su se dešavala svuda po američkom jugu,

often without any subsequent legal investigation

često bez ikakve potonje pravne istrage

or consequences for the murderers.

i posledica po ubice.

But this time,

Ali ovoga puta,

a young journalist and friend of the victims

mlada novinarka i prijateljica žrtava

set out to expose the truth about these killings.

rešila je da razotkrije istinu o ovim ubistvima.

Her reports would shock the nation

Njeni izveštaji će šokirati naciju

and launch her career as an investigative journalist,

i pokrenuti njenu karijeru istraživačkog novinara,

civic leader, and civil rights advocate.

građanskog lidera i zastupnika građanskih prava.

Her name was Ida B. Wells.

Zvala se Ajda B. Vels.

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

Ajda Bel Vels je rođena u ropstvu u Holi Springsu u Misisipiju

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

16. jula 1862. godine, nekoliko meseci pre nego što je Proklamacija o emancipaciji

released her and her family.

oslobodila nju i njenu porodicu.

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

Nakon gubitka oba roditelja i brata usled žute groznice u 16. godini,

she supported her five remaining siblings

izdržavala je ostalih petoro braće i sestara

by working as a schoolteacher in Memphis, Tennessee.

tako što je radila kao učiteljica u Memfisu u Tenesiju.

During this time,

U to vreme je počela da radi kao novinarka.

she began working as a journalist.

Writing under the pen name “Iola,”

Pisala je pod pseudonimom „Ajola“

by the early 1890s she gained a reputation

i do početka 1890-ih je stekla reputaciju

as a clear voice against racial injustice

jasnog glasa protiv rasnih nepravdi

and become co-owner and editor

i postala je suvlasnica i urednica

of the Memphis Free Speech and Headlight newspaper.

novina „Sloboda govora i najvažnije vesti Memfisa“.

She had no shortage of material:

Nije joj manjkalo materijala.

in the decades following the Civil War,

Tokom decenija nakon građanskog rata,

Southern whites attempted to reassert their power

južnjački belci su pokušavali da ponovo uspostave moć

by committing crimes against Black people

vršenjem zločina nad crncima,

including suppressing their votes,

što je podrazumevalo suzbijanje njihovih glasova,

vandalizing their businesses, and even murdering them.

uništavanje njihovih poslova, pa čak i njihovo ubijanje.

After the murder of her friends,

Nakon ubistva svojih prijatelja,

Wells launched an investigation into lynching.

Vels je pokrenula istragu linčovanja.

She analyzed specific cases through newspaper reports and police records,

Analizirala je konkretne slučajeve

kroz novinarske izveštaje i policijske zapise

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

i intervjuisala ljude koji su izgubili prijatelje i porodicu zbog linča.

She risked her life to get this information.

Rizikovala je svoj život da bi dobila te informacije.

As a Black person investigating racially motivated murders,

Kao osoba crne rase koja istražuje rasno motivisana ubistva,

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

razbesnela je mnogo tih istih južnjačkih belaca

koji su bili uključeni u linčovanje.

Her bravery paid off.

Njena hrabrost se isplatila.

Most whites had claimed and subsequently reported

Većina belaca je tvrdila i naknadno prijavljivala

that lynchings were responses to criminal acts by Black people.

da su linčovanja bila reakcije na krivična dela crnaca.

But that was not usually the case.

Ali obično nije bilo tako.

Through her research,

Kroz svoje istraživanje,

Wells showed that these murders were actually a deliberate,

Vels je pokazala da su ova ubistva zapravo bila namerna,

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

brutalna taktika kontrole ili kažnjavanja crnaca koji su se nadmetali sa belcima.

Her friends, for example,

Njeni prijatelji su, na primer,

had been lynched when their grocery store

bili linčovani kada je njihova prodavnica

became popular enough to divert business from a white competitor.

postala dovoljno popularna da preusmeri kupce belca-konkurenta.

Wells published her findings in 1892.

Vels je objavila svoje zaključke 1892. godine.

In response, a white mob destroyed her newspaper presses.

Kao odgovor na to, grupa belaca je uništila njene novinske prese.

She was out of town when they struck,

Bila je van grada kad su napali,

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

ali su zapretili da će je ubiti ako se ikada vrati u Memfis.

So she traveled to New York,

Zato je otputovala u Njujork,

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

gde je iste godine ponovo objavila svoje istraživanje u pamfletu pod naslovom

Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All Its Phases.

„Južnjački užasi: zakon linčovanja u svim fazama“.

In 1895, after settling in Chicago,

Godine 1895,

nakon što se nastanila u Čikagu,

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

nadovezala se na „Južnjačke užase“ u dužem delu po imenu „Crveni zapis“.

Her careful documentation of the horrors of lynching

Njeno pažljivo dokumentovanje užasa linča i strastveni javni govori

and impassioned public speeches drew international attention.

privukli su međunarodnu pažnju.

Wells used her newfound fame to amplify her message.

Vels je iskoristila novostečenu slavu da bi naglasila svoju poruku.

She traveled to Europe,

Putovala je u Evropu,

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

gde je podigla užasnute ljude u Evropi protiv rasnog nasilja na američkom jugu

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

u nadi da će američka vlada i javnost slediti primer.

Back in the US,

Po povratku u SAD,

she didn’t hesitate to confront powerful organizations,

nije oklevala da se suprotstavi moćnim organizacijama -

fighting the segregationist policies of the YMCA

borila se protiv politike segregacije udruženja YMCA

and leading a delegation to the White House

i predvodila je delegaciju do Bele kuće

to protest discriminatory workplace practices.

radi protesta protiv diskriminacije na radnom mestu.

She did all this while disenfranchised herself.

Sve to je radila dok je i sama bila lišena prava.

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

Žene su dobile pravo glasa tek kad je Vels bila u kasnim pedesetim.

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

Pa čak i tada, glasanje je uglavnom prošireno samo na belkinje.

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

Vels je bila ključni igrač u borbi za uključivanje u glasanje,

starting a Black women’s suffrage organization in Chicago.

pokrenuvši organizaciju za pravo glasa crnkinja u Čikagu.

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

Ali, uprkos dubokoj posvećenosti ženskim pravima,

she clashed with white leaders of the movement.

sukobila se sa belačkim vođama pokreta.

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

Tokom marša za pravo glasa žena u Vašingtonu,

she ignored the organizers’ attempt to placate Southern bigotry

ignorisala je pokušaj organizatora da umiri južnjačku netrpeljivost

by placing Black women in the back,

postavljanjem crkinja pozadi,

and marched up front alongside the white women.

i marširala je napred zajedno sa belkinjama.

She also chafed with other civil rights leaders,

Iritirala je i druge lidere za građanska prava,

who saw her as a dangerous radical.

koji su je smatrali opasnim radikalom.

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

Insistirala je na detaljnom emitovanju strahota koje su se dešavale na Jugu,

while others thought doing so would be counterproductive

dok su drugi mislili da bi to bilo kontraproduktivno

to negotiations with white politicians.

za pregovore sa belačkim političarima.

Although she participated in the founding of the NAACP,

Iako je učestvovala u osnivanju

Nacionalnog udruženja za napredak obojenih,

she was soon sidelined from the organization.

uskoro je gurnuta u stranu organizacije.

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

Svojom nespremnošću da pravi ustupke

u pogledu bilo kog aspekta svoje vizije pravde

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

dovela je do izražaja slabe tačke raznih pokreta za ostvarivanje prava

and ultimately made them stronger—

i na kraju ih je ojačala,

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

ali joj je to istovremeno otežalo da pronađe svoje mesto u njima.

She was ahead of her time,

Bila je ispred svog vremena

waging a tireless struggle for equality and justice

i vodila je neumornu borbu za jednakost i pravdu

decades before many had even begun to imagine it possible.

decenijama pre nego što su mnogi čak i počeli da to smatraju mogućim.