Before the Civil war, many blacks worked picking cotton, as seen above. Afterwards, those who were unskilled in other areas found themselves jobless.

ThingThe war against lynching that Ida had been so passionately spearheading since the deaths of Moss, McDowell, and Stewart was triumphant. Over the years the numbers of blacks being lynched in the South was decreasing, and as a result of her lectures, pamphlets, and the international pressures she had raised, society all across the country was denouncing lynching as innately barbaric. Ida now had some breathing room. She could freely begin to pursue other ventures.

ThingIda's husband Ferdinand Lee Barnett pointed out that trouble was brewing in their own city of Chicago. The editor of the Chicago Tribune, Robert W. Patterson, had been publishing articles advocating scrapping the integrated school system that had been in place since 1874 by separating white and black students. Ida knew the ultimate importance of a solid education, a value given to her by her parents. She saw shrewdly that segregation would invariably lead to white schools that would be properly funded, but black schools that would be ill-supplied. She had lashed out against that very situation in her article for the Free Speech that had cost her teaching job. With her own children in mind, Ida paid a visit to Robert Patterson. She told him that though he had spoken to many white parents on the issue of segregation, he had failed to question a single African American. It was only fair to hear the arguments of a black committee. Patterson brushed Ida off, muttering, "I do not have time to listen to a lot of colored people on the subject!"

ThingIda was not put off. She knew who could help. Jane Addams, a revered woman's activist, was a dear friend of hers. After meeting with Patterson Ida phoned Addams, and carefully laid out the situation."Will you undertake to
reach those of influence who would be willing to do for us what we can not do for ourselves?" Addams did not let Ida down. She immediately gathered a group of seven prominent individuals. They visited Paterson and firmly expressed opinions backing Ida. Pressured, Patterson gave up his attempt and stopped publishing articles on having segregated schools.

ThingIda continued pursuing other endeavors into the next century. In 1909, she participated in the founding of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the NAACP. She probably did not envision just how multi-faceted the organization would become, or the scope of influence it would exercise throughout the rest of the century. Indeed, the NAACP is powerful to this day.

ThingJane Addams came into play in Ida's life again in 1910--only this time, without knowing it. Besides working for women's voting rights, Addams had also established a settlement house--one of the first of its kind--for the poor and homeless in Chicago, called Hull House. Ida herself had always had a special place in her heart for her less fortunate brothers. Addam's Hull House suddenly gave her an inspiration. What was to stop her from opening her own place for the homeless brothers who were suffering, misdirected, out on the streets? It would be a massive project, but she was up to it. With financial funding from the white owner of the Chicago Daily, Victor F. Lawson, Ida obtained an empty spot at 2830 State Street. She turned the building into a haven of music, learning, and rest, and on May 1, 1910 the Negro Fellowship League Reading Room and Social Center opened its doors.

ThingIda dedicated much of her time to the center, where she found fulfillment. She organized a Fellowship Chorus, a Boy's Club for rogue youth, and established a newspaper called the Fellowship Herald. Ida's vision had turned out to be an outright success. There were people seeking refuge at the Negro Fellowship League every night and within the first year she had helped over a hundred men find work. Lawson, her supporter, was overjoyed by this achievement, but because the rent on the location was so high--$175 a month--he was able to afford to fund Ida's center for only two more years.

ThingWhen faced with the prospect of having to shut down the center, Ida was crushed. Though she was the caring mother of a large family, and still lobbying her crusade, she had managed to dedicate several hours a day to the Negro Fellowship League, and loved every minute of it. She did not want to give it up now. So, Ida first tried moving the center to a smaller location. Also, she landed a job full-time as the first black probation officer in Chicago. She and her husband resorted to using some of their savings to keep the center open. A steady stream of donations helped immensely. In this way, the center stayed opened for a few more precious years--until 1920. Undoubtedly, Ida changed the lives of countless blacks who stopped by at the Negro fellowship League during those ten years. She had fully accomplished her original goal, "reaching boys and men who were the furthest down and out."