Ida B. Wells was an American investigative journalist, educator, and an early leader in the civil rights movement. She was best known for her successful campaign against lynching and her work to establish anti-lynching laws. She also wrote extensively on the history of African Americans in the United States and was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Wells was a pioneering figure in journalism and a major contributor to the development of investigative reporting.