Social Studies Poetry

Bibliography

Weatherford, Carole Boston. VOICE OF FREEDOM: FANNIE LOU HAMER, SPIRIT OF THE CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT. 2015. Ill. by Ekua Holmes. Somerville, MA: Candlewick. ISBN 9780763665319

Summary

Fannie Lou Hamer, civil rights activist extraordinaire, reflects on her life and the contribution she made to further the cause for equality and civil rights for Black Americans. From her dirt-poor upbringing as the twentieth child of Mississippi sharecroppers to her dedicated persistence for voter registration, Fannie Lou Hamer always kept her focus as a woman determined and dedicated to fight for what was right and fair.

Quality and Appeal

Carole Boston Weatherford pens a remarkable portrayal of Fannie Lou Hamer’s struggles and successes. The book is a 2016 Caldecott Honor and Robert F. Sibert Honor book.  Told in first person, the book contains twenty-two free verse poems that detail her life through the first glimpses of racism, her immense love she had for her mother, medical betrayals, vicious beatings, and a faith that sustained her through song. Each poem is given its own title from the beginning with “Sunflower County, Mississippi,” Fannie’s birthplace, to her emotional visit across the globe titled “Africa” that produces a range of emotions including pride, sadness, and joy. The book contains author’s notes, which reiterates Fannie’s story from verse poetry with additional details. A timeline is also included which not only encompasses aspects of Fannie’s life, but also contains information about race riots, the Ku Klux Klan, prominent Black History events, and also relevant United States historical events, including the dropping of the atom bomb on Hiroshima. Source notes, selected bibliography, audio recording, online resources, and copyright acknowledgements are found at the end of the book.

Euka Holmes, winner of the 2016 John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award, masterfully produces illustrations that depict many areas of Fannie’s life. From the vibrant colors displayed in a field of sunflowers in the opening poem, “Sunflower County, Mississippi” to the breathtaking mix of hues painted across a Mississippi sky in the poem, “Motherhood.” Examples of images that lean toward the darker, and more violent areas of Fannie’s life can be seen in the poems, “On The Move” and “The Price Of Freedom.” The two page illustration shows silhouettes of men holding shotguns in the back of a pickup truck, on the opposite page there is a display of a lone window and what looks to be the side of a home, each riddled with bullet holes. The illustration confirms the danger she faced on a daily basis and the threats she endured, all because of her skin color.

Examples of figurative language for simile and personification can be seen in  “Sunflower County, Mississippi” where Fannie describes the life of her sharecropper parents. She says, “where the soil was as rich as black folks was poor, where cotton was king and Jim Crow the law.” Other examples of similes are in the poem, “Worse Off Than Dogs” where Fannie describes her husband as “a good man of few words, as steady as a rock.” and “The Price Of Freedom” that described “the night riders / who cruised slow as molasses.” More examples of similes are in the poems “America’s Problem” and “No Rest.” In “America’s Problem,” Fannie proclaims, “no man is an island.” In the poem, “No Rest” Fannie is growing tired, yet still determined to fight. She says, “I was weary as an old soldier, but I couldn’t rest – no, I couldn’t.”  One last example of simile is written in the poem, “1964 Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey.” Fannie gleefully exclaims, “We stole the president’s thunder, and our support swelled like a storm cloud.”

Metaphor examples are seen in the poem “My Mother Taught Me” and “The Beating.” “My Mother Taught Me” is a beautiful tribute to a woman who always put her children’s needs first. Although I get the impression that Fannie’s mother had no schooling, she is wise beyond her years. The injustices that were thrown upon her did not leave her a bitter woman, but made her a strong role model for Fannie and her siblings. Respect for yourself was what she taught her children, so that others would return that respect. The closing verse of the poem pronounces, “My mother taught me years ago that black is beautiful.” One final example is seen in “The Beating” where the Civil Rights Bill is signed into law. After years of senseless killings and unnecessary delays, President Johnson signed the bill, but “The blood of freedom fighters was in his pen.”

Although the book’s subject matter deals with the injustices and harsh realities of the cruel treatment of Black Americans in our nation’s history, this book should be shared in classrooms across our country. We, as educators, would be doing Fannie Lou Hamer a disservice to not include her contribution to our country as part of a lesson on civic heroes. The language, at times, can be vulgar with the mention of inappropriate terms for women and African Americans, but I do not believe the language distracts from the overall message. The book will invoke emotions ranging from anger, frustration, sadness, and joy, but the one emotion that this book should have the reader feel is curiosity. That desire to inquire into learning more about the Civil Rights movement, segregation, sharecropping, and the remarkable life of one Fannie Lou Hamer.

On a personal note, every year I have my students research a famous and not so famous African American who has made a significant contribution to society. I feel it is important to acknowledge the sacrifices and celebrations of people who for so long were treated as less than human. My students have learned about so many compelling figures in history over the years. I always make it point to include Fannie Lou Hamer as a person one of my student’s research that year. Her contribution to this nation is a story that every citizen should be familiar with. She should never be forgotten.

Spotlight Poem

America’s Problem

On my fund-raising tour, I called racism

America’s problem. Whatever you give,

I told the crowd, it’s not only to free me in Mississippi,

but also to free yourselves

because no man is an island.

Racists can be some kind of rats, though.

In 1967, my daughter Dorothy took sick

after her second child was born.

I drove more than ninety miles

all the way to Memphis, Tennessee,

to find a hospital that treat blacks.

Then, right outside the hospital main entrance,

my Dorothy passed away in my arms.

Gone – just like that ‘cause she sick

and couldn’t get enough to eat.

Now me and Pap got grandbabies to raise.

I prayed their future would be brighter.

In 1967, Robert Clark, a Freedom Democrat,

cracked the door to the statehouse.

He was the first black person elected

to the Mississippi legislature since Reconstruction –

when slavery had just ended.

In 1968, Dr. King and Bobby Kennedy,

a senator running for president,

were both killed. Those were dark days.

Connections:

In light of today’s racial tension that has been sparked by this election year and previous events involving racial strife, read the poem to students. Have students dissect lines within the poem such as “racism America’s problem,” “free me in Mississippi, but also to free yourselves,” “no man is an island,” and “Racists can be some kind of rats.” Ask students what they believe these words mean to them. Show footage to students, from actual Civil Rights protests, maybe even footage of Fannie Lou Hamer, to help students understand the struggle and persistent demeaning conditions African Americans had to tolerate in order to survive. Discuss how events depicted in this poem affected the lives of so many and the impact they had on individuals. Show students the adjoining illustration that goes with the poem. Have students create posters as part of the Civil Rights movement.