China returned to Wells’ descendants

Ida B. Wells china has been returned to family after spending over 30 years in Holly Springs.

Tiana Ferrell, great-great-granddaughter, reclaimed the china which her grandmother Alfreda Duster Ferrell loaned to the museum when it operated as an art gallery in 1996, Ferrell said.

There was a contractual agreement for the loaned china between Alfreda Duster Ferrell, Ida’s granddaughter, and the Ida B. Wells Art Gallery, Ferrell said.

Ferrell’s grandmother Alfreda Duster Ferrell gifted the china to her and she agreed to a loan agreement with the museum. The loan expired this year.

Ferrell retrieved the china November 7.

The few pieces of the handpainted china on loan to the Museum belonged to a complete set, Ferrell said.

Other pieces of the china are displayed at the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

“My grandmother Alfreda Duster Ferrell and I were honored to attend the grand opening ceremony in 2016 in Washington,” Ferrell said.

She said the china will remain in her keeping for a short time to ensure housekeeping measures and other protocols are followed.

“However, I do have other plans for the china to be displayed in order to ensure many generations to come are able to view a piece of Ida’s history,” Ferrell said.

Ida’s descendants, including Ferrell, will continue visiting Holly Springs as often as possible.

“We will see what the future holds,” she said.

Some of Ida’s descendants who have visited Holly Springs to celebrate the life of the world-renown anti-lynching activist and journalist, include Alfreda Barnett Duster, Ida’s daughter who published Ida’s autobiography; Alfreda Duster Ferrell, Ida’s granddaughter who assisted with the opening of the Ida B. Wells Museum, and Hal and Densie Bland, cousins.

Ferrell said she wants Holly Springs to know her decision to reclaim the china was very difficult.

“I have lived in Holly Springs on three separate occasions, including being a student at Rust College,” she said. “Ergo, Holly Springs is a second home to me. I have learned many valuable lessons from the community and have gained life-long friends. I thank everyone in Holly Springs who has supported me and embraced me and my family. This is not a goodbye but rather, I’ll see you later in another capacity.”

Tiana wrote and produced a play “The Ladies Car,” which was discontinued due to COVID.

“We are working to bring it back to the stage soon and we have received great interest in another production,” she said.

“The Ladies Car” tells the story of Ida B. Wells’ law suit against the Chesapeake, Ohio & Southwestern Railroad Company in 1884. Wells sued the company after she was forced to leave the first-class ladies car for the Colored coach.

“The play depicts the story of a young woman fighting a lone battle for equality in the post reconstruction era while exploring love and her life’s purpose,” Ferrell said.

An Atlanta (Georgia) based writer and director, Tiana Ferrell studied film and music earning a Master’s in specialized entertainment business. She also took a playwriting course at The Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

Ferrell commented on the recent move by the City of Holly Springs to rename Memphis Street Ida B. Wells Street.

A section of Fourth Street in Downtown Memphis, Tenn., bears her great-great-grandmother’s name and there is an Ida B. Wells Drive in Chicago, she said.

Tiana Ferrell, 38, is the daughter of Steven and Claudette Ferrell. Her father is the great grandson of Ida B. Wells.

Tiana never met Ida as she was born after Ida’s death.

“But my father and grandmother made sure to share family stories and photos to ensure I knew my ancestor,” Ferrell said.

Ferrell said she feels a special connection with her great-great-grandmother.

“I do feel a sense of closeness to Ida,” she said. “I feel that we have the same personality, as we are both Cancers. Also, I sometimes feel that I can channel her and she will speak directly to me. For instance, when I decided to write a stage play, I had no idea what I would write about. Then suddenly I dreamt about Ida saying write about me.”

Ferrell lives and works in Atlanta as a public relations specialist and content writer.