From the exhibit's description: "In 1894 and 1895, Frances Willard, the renowned president of the Woman's Christian Temperance Union (WCTU), and Ida B. Wells, the prominent journalist and anti-lynching activist, fought a war of words in the international press. In 1890, Willard had made racist statements in a newspaper interview while in Atlanta, Georgia for a WCTU convention. Four years later, in 1894, Wells publicized the interview to pressure Willard to support her anti-lynching work. The resulting conflict attracted international attention and condemnation of the WCTU and Willard.

Until today, this story has never been fully told at the Frances Willard House Museum and Archives, the institution dedicated to Willard's life and legacy. Now, it is the subject of this digital exhibit, Truth-Telling: Frances Willard and Ida B. Wells. The exhibit explores the details of the conflict and examines Willard's failure of leadership on the question of lynching. Its purpose is to help us understand not only what this story means for Willard's legacy, but also what it can tell us about the larger history of racism in American women's movements."