Jo Ella Costello captivated her audiences this weekend at the Warner-Bentley Theater with the presentation of her one-woman play depicting the life and struggles of black activist Ida B. Wells.
"The most remarkable thing about Ida B. Wells is not that she fought lynching and other forms of barbarism," said Alfreda Duster, Wells' daughter.
It is rather that she fought a largely and almost single-handed fight, with the single-mindedness of a crusader, long before men or women of any race entered the arena; and the measure of success she achieved goes far beyond the credit she has been given in the history of the country," she said.
The play, one of many activities on campus celebrating the death of slain civil-rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., was performed by Costello, a graduate student in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at the College.
The play, recreating events in the life of Wells, is part of Costello's master thesis whose academic concentration has been in the areas of theatre studies and the politics of race.
Parading on-stage in the familiar hair-wrap of Wells, Costello begins her story of the great leader with the untimely death of her parents to the Yellow Fever epidemic.
Born in Holly Springs, Mississippi, Wells assumes the reigns of the family as the oldest of eight children by teaching school.
Wells then moves to Memphis, Tennessee, where in one of her first acts to rectify a dismally corrupt system, she sues the C.O. & S. Railroad because of racially biased practices.
She later begins her career as a journalist with the co-ownership of the black newspaper, "Memphis Free Speech & Headlight". One of her first articles criticizes the school in which she taught. She was later fired because of the incident.
After the lynching of three of Memphis' leading black business leaders she begins her anti-lynching crusade which brings her a national and international audience. Costello adds a subtle control to the character of Wells. She weaves each scene of Wells's life into an intricate adventure which spans Wells' entire career.
With the use of pictures of important historical figures and audience participation, Costello galvanizes the role of Wells--a schoolteacher, journalist, feminist, and wife.
Costello combines several emotions like fear, hatred and humor to paint a surreal portrait of Wells, a woman before her time. After the play, Costello led the audience in a post-production discussion.
