Social Studies Poetry

Social Studies Poetry

Bibliography

Weatherford, Carole Boston. 2015. Voice of freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, spirit of the civil rights movement. ISBN: 978-0763665319

Summary/Analysis:

Voice of Freedom is a collection of 22 poems that tell the story of Fannie Lou Hamer.  Written in conversational free-verse the text by Weatherford incorporates direct quotes from Hamer that flow together throughout the book.  The poems describe life under Jim Crow all the way to her becoming a national hero and civil rights activist.  Some poems cover difficult but necessary subjects like her life under Jim Crow and forced sterilization because of a Mississippi law and brutal beatings at the hands of police officers.  The book follows her life and provides insight into high and low points of her life while providing a brutal and honest picture of what took place in history.  The book is all free-verse and line breaks assist with creating a spoken rhythm pattern in most of the poems.  Direct quotes from Hamer are included in the lines and there is an added source note in the back with information on the direct quotation used.  Colored collage illustrations by Ekua Holmes use scraps of historical photos, newsprint, maps, and other media add to the poems and experiences. There is no table of contents present, but there is a detailed timeline, an author’s note, source notes, and a bibliography. 

Use:

The Price of Freedom

Before I could cast a single vote,

I had to pay a poll tax I couldn’t afford--

and dodge the night riders

who cruised slow as molasses

past my house with guns

after my name was printed in the paper.

Too bad a voter registration card

couldn’t pay the rent.

When Pap lost his job, we got by

on ten dollars a week raised

by those young voting-rights workers

who opened my eyes

to the change a-coming.

I hopped aboard that train.

The poems in this biography all flow together, but many of them are able to stand alone.  While this poem does not contain any direct quotes by Hamer it offers a glimpse into something that she had to endure and overcome.  Before reading the poem be sure to have students research and understand the history of what was happening and what the purpose of a “nightrider” was.  After reading the poem discuss what was happening and why the voting-rights workers helped her family out.  Discuss why people did not want her or other African Americans voting.  Focus on the last line of the poem “I hopped aboard that train.”  Have students discuss if it was a real train and why Weatherford chose to use that imagery.