Voice of Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford

These include Shapur II, who was formally crowned king of Persia before he was born, Indian dancer/professional architect Sheila Sri Prakash, transgender spokesperson Jazz Jennings, inventor Param Jaggi, and an international host of other teen or preteen activists and prodigies. Why should grown-ups get all the historical, scientific, athletic, cinematic, and artistic glory?Ĭhoosing exemplars from both past and present, Mitchell includes but goes well beyond Alexander the Great, Anne Frank, and like usual suspects to introduce a host of lesser-known luminaries. (author’s note, timeline, source notes, bibliography) Young readers who open this book with just a vague notion of who Fannie Lou Hamer was will wonder no more after absorbing this striking portrait of the singer and activist.īold, honest, informative, and unforgettable. Holmes’ quiltlike collage illustrations emphasize the importance Hamer placed on community among African-Americans. Hamer’s determination, perseverance, and unwavering resolve come through on every page. Hamer’s quotes appear frequently in Weatherford’s free-verse poetry, giving readers a sense of how and what she spoke: “Black people work so hard, and we ain’t got nothin’ / to show for it.” The author also includes painful truths, describing the “night riders’ ” pursuit of Hamer after she attempted to register to vote and a brutal beating at the hands of police following her arrest, from which she suffered lifetime injuries. This expansive, richly illustrated biography about the “voice of the civil rights movement” recounts Hamer’s humble and poverty-stricken beginnings in 1917 as the 20th child of Mississippi sharecroppers through her struggle to fight for the rights of black people on local, regional, and national levels. Fannie Lou Hamer? They will likely come up short.

A welcome addition to civil rights literature for children.Īsk American children to recall a book on Martin Luther King Jr.

Voice of Freedom by Carole Boston Weatherford