Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jun 26, 2026

Michelle Duster

Michelle Duster is an American author and public historian. She is known for her work to preserve the legacy of her great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells.

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Jun 26, 2026
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Michelle Duster is an American author and public historian. She is known for her work to preserve the legacy of her great-grandmother, Ida B. Wells.

Early life and education

Michelle Duster was born in Chicago to Maxine Duster and Donald L. Duster on December 20, 1963. Her father worked for Comed,1 and her mother was an English teacher and civic leader.2 She is the paternal great-granddaughter of Ida B. Wells. Growing up in Chicago's South Side, Duster began writing from an early age. While in high school, she entered essay contests and was a writer for the school newspaper.3 In 1985, she obtained her B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth College.4 She went on to obtain an M.A. in Media Studies from The New School.5

Career

Duster has worked to preserve Ida B. Wells' legacy both through written publications and public history projects.678 She has written one children's book, Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth: Educator, Feminist, and Anti-lynching Civil Rights Leader9 and one young adult biography, Ida B. The Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy Of Ida B. Wells,1011 about her great-grandmother. She has also edited two anthologies of Wells' writing.

She received the Multi-Generational Activist Award from the Illinois Human Rights Commission in 2019, and the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. Social Justice Award from her alma mater, Dartmouth College.12

Selected bibliography

Children's literature

Anthologies edited

  • — (2008). Ida In Her Own Words. Lansing, Illinois: Benjamin Williams Publishing. ISBN 978-0980239812.15
  • — (2010). Ida From Abroad. Lansing, Illinois: Benjamin Williams Publishing. ISBN 978-0980239898.15
References

References

  1. O'Donnell, Maureen (11 April 2013). "Comed exec, grandson of Ida B. Wells". Retrieved 1 June 2023 – via PressReader.
  2. O'Donnell, Maureen (4 November 2022). "Maxine Duster, Chicago educator, civic leader, dead at 83". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  3. APW (9 June 2021). "Michelle Duster: A Descendant Goes To Work And Reclaims History Through Her Writing". Arkansas Press Women. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  4. "Chicago Finally Has a Street Named After a Black Woman. For Michelle Duster '85, It's Personal. | Dartmouth Alumni". alumni.dartmouth.edu. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  5. "Columbia College Chicago Faculty Member Has Newly Released Book About Michelle Obama". www.colum.edu. 4 September 2018. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  6. "Race in America: History Matters with Michelle Duster". The Washington Post. 1 February 2022. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  7. Comment, Betsy Bird Leave a (1 February 2022). "Voices of Truth: Interviews with Michelle Duster and Laura Freeman About Their New Ida B. Wells Bio". A Fuse #8 Production. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  8. admin (16 March 2021). "Wright College Tutor Michelle Duster Pens Acclaimed Book, Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells". CCC. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  9. "Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth". Jane Addams Peace Association. 13 January 2023. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  10. "Biography of Ida B. Wells. 'Ida B. the Queen' coming out in February". USA Today. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  11. Graham, Kashif Andrew (3 February 2021). "Michelle Duster Delivers an Intimate Biography of Ida B. Wells". Nashville Scene. Chapter 16. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  12. "Author and Historian Michelle Duster to Give MLK Lecture on Feb. 16". Elmhurst University. Retrieved 4 October 2023.
  13. "Ida B. Wells, Voice of Truth by Michelle Duster". Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved 1 June 2023.
  14. Duster, Michelle (26 January 2021). Ida B. the Queen: The Extraordinary Life and Legacy of Ida B. Wells. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-2981-1. Retrieved 14 March 2025.
  15. "Michelle Duster". Michelle Duster. Retrieved 1 June 2023.