On this episode of The Unwanted Sorority, we are honoring the groundbreaking legacy of Ida B. Wells-Barnett, whose investigative journalism exposed the ties between racial terror and sexual violence in the South, laying a foundation for future generations of survivor-advocates.

Our Roll Call guest, Lori Johnson, shares her own story of survival and healing. Growing up in NYC and moving to the South, Lori experienced family instability and within the strict teachings of the Jehovah’s Witness faith, Lori carried shame and trauma for years. Today, she traces her healing journey back to her Gullah Igala cultural and ancestral roots, where spirituality, community, and history become sources of strength.

If you’ve ever felt unseen in your story, this episode reminds you: your survival is sacred, your healing is valid, and you are not alone.

Resources & Mentions

Ida B. Wells-Barnett's Southern Horrors: Lynch Law in All its Phases - Oct. 5, 1892, from the archives of The New York Public Library

The Bill of Rights Institute's curriculum assignment Ida B. Wells and the Campaign against Lynching

Mary E. Triece's book, Radical Advocate: Ida B. Wells and the Road to Race and Gender Justice, featured on The University of Alabama Press's website

Amb Ayegba Abdullahi Adojoh's article "A Study of the Cultural Relationship between Igala (Igula) Kingdom of Nigeria and Gullah People of North America" in the International Journal of Trend in Research and Development, Volume 9(5), ISSN: 2394-9333

RAINN (800-656-HOPE)

Ujima: The National Center on Violence Against Women in the Black Community