NBC Anchor Man Art Norman reminde me of my contributrion as Chicago plans first monument to Ida B. Wells

When I wrote my first book, the Passion Principles: Pathways To Purpose, Power & Profit, TV Anchorman Art Norman wrote a review for the book, giving honor to Ms. Ida B. Wells. I always kept that thought in the back of my mind as I went about my work or writing and reporting. It is an honor and a privilege to be even thought of in the same sentence as a woman who's made a difference in the lives of generations still to come.

"Chicago plans to build the nation’s first monument to the iconic anti-lynching publisher Ida B. Wells,

according to her great-granddaughter, Michelle Duster. The monument will commemorate the 150th anniversary of Wells’ birth, July 16, 2012. “She’s included on a wall in Nashville, TN, and part of the exhibit at the Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, but there are no monuments to her anywhere,” Duster said. Since 1983, the National Association of Black Journalists has presented
the Ida B. Wells Award “to a media executive, manager or journalist who has made outstanding contributions toward making American newsrooms and news coverage more accurately reflect the communities they serve.”

The Ida B. Wells Commemorative Art Committee has commissioned the development of a monument to honor the life and times of the historic Ida B. Wells – journalist, teacher, anti-lynching crusader, women’s rights activist and civil rights pioneer. To celebrate the upcoming 150th anniversary of Ms. Wells’ birth, July 16, 2012, world-renowned artist Richard Hunt, who is Chicago based, will create a monument which will be located in Bronzeville on the median strip on 37th & Langley. Once completed, the monument will be donated by the committee to the City of Chicago’s Public Art Collection.


Ida B. Wells lived, worked and raised a family in the Bronzeville neighborhood of Chicago from 1895 – 1931. A housing project was named after her and stood in the neighborhood for over 60 years. In 2002 the last buildings were torn down."

I didn't live in Bronzeville, but I did grow up in Stateway Gardens, now Parc Place!
What a difference a lady and a day makes!