Crusade against History: Alfreda Duster, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, and Love Defying Erasure

• In Event: 20407 - Sociological Theory

Abstract

Despite recent attention, Ida B Wells-Barnett has long been excluded from the disciplinary canon. Had she been recognized as a serious thinker, intersectional analysis and theorization might have become standard practice much earlier. Today, our horizon of interconnectedness, despite differences, has been significantly expanded owing to the subversive tradition of intersectionality. However, less emphasis has been placed on how we are transgenerationally connected to thinks of our history. This article demonstrates that love is the foundational element of such transgenerational connection, by analyzing Alfreda Duster’s efforts to inscribe her mother, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, into history—hence, her crusade against History. Wells-Barnett’s autobiography, Crusade for Justice, might never have seen the light of day in 1970 without Duster’s devotion since 1940. Duster’s 30 years of devotion cannot be fully understood solely through the lens of her love for her biological mother. We argue that her love was not merely a feeling but a form of decolonial agency against the US empire-state’s historical erasure of Black humanity. Through this agency, she was not only giving love back to her mother but also to the Black community that Wells-Barnett dearly loved and by whom she was deeply loved. Growing up in Chicago, where Wells-Barnett left a lasting mark in the Black folks’ memories, Duster was deeply embedded in the love of/from Wells-Barnett. Our archival analysis of Duster’s correspondence and research notes reveals that love was an integral component of knowledge production—an endeavor often regarded as emotionless. First, Duster’s love enabled the recognition of Wells-Barnett’s significance, although the latter was marginalized by the mainstream public. Second, Duster’s love gave her the tenacity to continue her research despite decades of rejection. Third, perhaps counterintuitively, Duster’s love made her research more rigorous.

Authors

• Veda Hyunjin Kim, Ohio Wesleyan University

• Q Aunrika Tucker-Shabazz, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor

• Chloe Sullivan, Ohio Wesleyan University