Ida B. Wells, Woman of Impact w/ Author and Public Historian who has done work around her great-grandmother Ida B. Wells.,Michelle Duster

This Women's History Month, we are learning more about the life and legacy of Ida B. Wells with her great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster. We discuss how Black Women must be active politically to continue change and continue increasing our wealth.

Bios and Awards

Michelle Duster has worked for over 30 years in various mediums to highlight the positive contributions of women and African Americans to the United States. She has written, edited or contributed to numerous articles and over a dozen books, plus worked on monuments, markers, murals, statues, documentary films, and film festivals -- all to tell stories that have frequently been omitted, skewed or marginalized. She is determined to help current and future generations be exposed to and inspired by more inclusive and truthful representation. Her most recent books about her great-grandmother Ida B. Wells are the picture book, Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth and the adult book Ida B. the Queen. She also co-edited the anthologies Impact: Personal Portraits of Activism and Michelle Obama’s Impact on African American Women and Girls.

Michelle Duster is an author, professor, public historian, and champion of racial and gender equity. She has written, edited, or contributed to over a dozen books. Her most recent is the picture book, Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth (January 4, 2022) which followed Ida B the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells - released in January 2021.

She also co-wrote the popular children’s history book, Tate and His Historic Dream; co-edited Impact: Personal Portraits of Activism; Shifts: An Anthology of Women’s Growth Through Change; Michelle Obama’s Impact on African American Women and Girls; and edited two books that include the writings of her paternal great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells. She has written articles for Ms. Magazine, TIME, Essence, HuffPost, Teen Vogue, People, Glamour, Daily Beast, and the North Star. She has appeared on MSNBC, CNN, WTTW, CBS & CW as well as numerous radio shows.

Her advocacy has led to street names, monuments, historical markers, murals, statues, and other public history projects that highlight women and African Americans, including Wells. She is working on several other projects that celebrate trailblazers, including the picture book, You Dared which will be published in 2024.