Ida B. Wells, a late 19th-century and early 20th-century antilynching crusader, established a rhetorical discourse that has had a lasting impact on scholars and activists well into the 21st century. Like other 19th- and 20th-century Black female rhetors, Wells uses ethos as a rhetorical strategy to persuade her audiences on social justice issues. In this thesis, I explore that Wells’ ethos departs from other Black female rhetors because of her subject matter—lynching. I argue how Ida B. Wells employs rhetorical strategies that differ from other Afro-American female rhetors. By employing a rhetorical close-textual analysis, I identify three rhetorical strategies that show how Wells establishes her truth-telling credibility. These three rhetorical strategies are: horrific tone, extensive data as a sociological tool, and violent dramatic irony. From the three pamphlets I choose, I focus on how Wells creates a horrific tone in Southern Horrors, uses extensive data as a rhetorical tool in A Red Record, and generates a violent dramatic irony in Mob Rules in New Orleans. By identifying specific ways how Wells uses rhetoric, I show scholars a new understanding of how Wells challenged racist and sexist norms in U.S. culture.