Ida B. Wells-Barnett was a newspaper journalist. She wrote about lynchings -- the illegal killings of Blacks by whites without trial, often done for such "crimes" as "quarreling with whites" or "making threats." She travelled around the country, gathering details and publishing names of those involved in many lynchings. Her bold actions incurred the wrath of angry whites. But despite threats to her life she continued her campaign. Ida B. Wells-Barnett was successful in raising the issue and turning the tide of public opinion against lynching. She was a major force in the founding of the NAACP, to defend the rights of African Americans.