Review: This little light of mine
Editorial Review - Kirkus ReviewsFrom former Los Angeles Times editorial writer Mills (A Place in the News, 1988)--a biography more fulsome than definitive of civil-rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer. The 20th child of dirt-poor black Mississippi sharecroppers, and with little schooling, Hamer was an unlikely candidate for greatness--but in the late 60's and early 70's, she came to symbolize black efforts to achieve full political and economical participation in the South. In 1962, the 44-year-old Hamer attended a meeting of the Freedom Riders--a meeting that, aimed at organizing black voter registration, would lead to her addressing the Democratic Convention, to national awards, and to invitations to the White House--as well as to jail and a severe beating. Deeply religious and known for her powerful singing (the book's title comes from her favorite freedom song), Hamer challenged the seating of the all-white Mississippi delegation at the 1964 Democratic Convention and the legitimacy of Mississippi's congressional representatives; continued to register voters; ran for Congress against segregationist stalwarts; and called for an end to poverty. Ensuing civil-rights legislation vindicated her efforts, but, by the early 70's, her radicalism--she was against the Vietnam War and favored land redistribution--had alienated many of her supporters. She was, however, as Andrew Young eulogized at her funeral, a woman ""who had the nerve to shake the foundations of this nation."" Understandably partisan, though a more objective assessment would better serve the indomitable Fannie. Still: a useful reminder of a not-so-distant past, as well as a--perhaps unintentional--primer on the realities of fame and politics.
Review: This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer
User Review - Mikey B. - GoodreadsThis is an inspirational book on a Civil Rights activist who was poor, a woman and oppressed. At the end of her life in Mississippi she was able to vote and participate in democracy, but she was still ... Read full review
Review: This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer
User Review - Kate - GoodreadsA deeply inspiring biography of one of the great unsung heroes of the civil rights movement. Mrs. Hamer was an amazing woman. Read full review
Review: This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer
User Review - Edi Campbell - GoodreadsI actually read the updated 2011 version of this book. So glad to finally get a more full story of this woman! Read full review
Review: This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer
User Review - Nonsequiteuse - GoodreadsOnce you read about this amazing, inspiring woman, shame on you if you ever skip voting on election day. This intense woman, a Mississippi Delta sharecropper, embodies what it means to be a patriot ... Read full review
Review: This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer
User Review - Sue - GoodreadsA great biography that is well suited for a general audience. Read full review
Review: This Little Light of Mine: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer
User Review - Marjorie.harris - GoodreadsAn incredible read. Read full review
Review: This little light of mine
User Review - Michael Rogers - Library Journal vol. 132 iss. 16 p. 107Hamer was a poor, uneducated Southern black woman who was literally treated worse than her employer's dog. When the Civil Rights Movement flowered in the early 1960s, Hamer exclaimed she was "sick and ... Read full review
