在美國，幾個世紀以來，種族主義一直是社會問題的重心，私刑於是成為一個很敏感的字詞。歷史上，在加州不少華工，在南方各州許多黑人，被白人私刑致死。在南北戰爭之後，私刑達到最高峰，即使憲法第13，14，15條修正案已公佈施行，黑人受害者仍不計其數。1892年，三十歲的依達薇絲(1862-1931)發起了反私刑的抗爭運動，因為她及親友再也忍受不了私刑的恐怖殘酷。她的努力終於消除了私刑。依達Ida先在國小任教，再轉到報社當主編寫社論，後來在芝加哥和她丈夫擁有出版社發行報紙。他們深知當時報紙媒体力量很大，足以對抗三K黨(Ku Klux Klan)的恐怖，並且促進NAACP(有色人種協進會)的民權運動。然而，她雖曾被尊稱為“民權運動之母,” 過逝後很快就為人所遺忘，歷史教科書也鮮少提及她，可能是私刑太敏感而成了禁忌，也可能因為她是女黑人而受漠視。年輕的一代，甚至不知道何謂私刑，更不知 依達薇絲是何許人也? 所幸，近十幾年來，女性主義者及歷史學家重新發現她的歷史成就。力圖恢復她歷史上應有的地位及價值。本論文的目的就是要讓讀者，瞭解到美國的私刑，私刑抗爭運動，及依達薇絲的歷史功勞。 Lynching is a very sensitive term in America where racial issues have been socially problematic for centuries. In the past, many Chinese labors in California and African Americans in the south had been lynched to death. Lynching reached its peak after the Civil War, and there had been numerous victims even though a series of the constitution amendments had been legislated. In 1892, Ida B. Wells (1862-1931) and her friends suffered from the terror of lynching, so she launched the Anti-lynching Movement, which led to end lyching eventually. Ida first taught in elementary schools, and then worked as an editor of newspaper, writing editorials. Finally she and her husband owned a publishing house and a Chicago- based newspaper dedicated to a campaign of anti-lynching. Back then, they knew how powerful press media was in dealing with the terror of Ku Klux Klan and promoting the Civil Rights Movement for NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.) Although Ida had been called “Mother of Civil Rights Movement”, partly because lynching is so sensitive and has become a taboo in many communities and partly because Ida was a black woman, she was seldom mentioned in history textbooks and was almost forgetten soon after she died. Younger generations even do not know what lynching is about and who Ida Wells is. Fortunately, in the past decade, some feminists and historians in America rediscovered her achievement and had been trying to restore her status and value in a historical sense. This thesis aims to readers the real face of the lynching practices in the United States.
