Freedom like Sunlight: Praisesongs for Black Americans

Bibliography

Lewis, J.P.(2000). Freedom like sunlight: Praisesongs for Black Americans. Ill. by John Thompson. Minnesota: Creative Editions. ISBN 978-0898123821.

Review

J. Patrick Lewis honors thirteen African Americans whose legacies have left an impact on society in this celebratory book. The poems highlight the struggles faced by those that wouldn’t accept injustices as shown in the poem “Rosa Parks”:

“And Many a fire was set that night,

And Many a head turned ghostly white

Because she dared disturb the peace”.

Talented African Americans like Marian Anderson are also celebrated. Her voice is compared to a paintbrush painting a masterpiece. The poems are rich with beautiful language, metaphors, and repetition, and they present facts in a way that will captivate students and encourage them to seek more information on the individuals. Each poem is accompanied with a detailed portrait of its subject created using pastels, pencils, and paints. The portraits themselves provide biographical information such as the two page spread of Martin Luther King, Jr. being arrested or the portrait of Harriet Tubman courageously leading a slave to freedom as she grasp her hand firmly. The poems are excellent for accompanying biographical studies or just enjoying as a celebration of African American history. Students can learn more about each figure by reading the biographical notes at the end of the book.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: upper elementary students

Before reading: Play the students the song “Go Down, Moses” so that they can hear the tune.

During reading: Read the poem “Sojourner Truth” to students and let them hear the words to each verse and the chorus.

Here is the first verse, chorus and last verse of the poem:

I was Isabella born,

Children, hear my cry,

And I was child to scalding scorn,

Children hear my cry.

Chorus:

Hold on, Jesus, ain’t I a woman born?

Tell the children, let them hear my cry.

I go on preaching freedom’s fire.

Children, hear my cry.

It ain’t for sale and it ain’t for hire,

Children, hear my cry.

Chorus

After reading: Have the chorus posted on a SMART board or chart paper so that students can sing it as you read the poem a second time.

The Other Side: Shorter Poems

Bibliography

Johnson, Angela. 1998. The Other Side: Shorter Poems. New York: Orchard Books. ISBN 978-0531301142.

Review

In this book of free verse poetry, Johnson writes about her memories of growing up in the African-American community of Shorter, AL before it was bulldozed away. Some of the poems are those of an ordinary childhood describing the red dirt, hiding places, and piano lessons ending in tears. However, Johnson also touches on more serious subjects such as her father’s nightmares after returning from Vietnam and the slash across her uncle’s forehead that was inflicted by a “redneck” when he tried to order lemonade at a lunch counter. Johnson eloquently describes the significance of the slash in the poem “Counters”:

All I can think is

how terrible it was

 and how beautiful

it made him.

The book was a 1999 winner of the Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award as well as a Coretta Scott King Award Honor. The free verse format will be appealing to young adults as the poems read like short stories packed with conflicting emotions about a town that once was Shorter, AL.  The black and white photos put faces to the folks of Shorter and create an authenticity that will further draw reader’s to this collection of poetic memories.

Classroom/Library Connection

Recommended audience: middle school and high school students

This historical poetry book highlights events from the 1960s and 1970s. It would be good to pair with a unit on civil rights or with To Kill A Mockingbird. In the poem “Nineties”, Johnson describes her reaction to a racial slur shouted to her when she moved to Cleveland Ohio. She ends the poem by saying,

Had to make Mama stop

so I could look at the

face of somebody who

dressed like me

and probably

wanted what I did

from the world,

but would never live in

mine.

Have the students read the poem with a partner.

After Reading: As a whole group discuss the misconception that racism was/is confined to the south. Then allow students to respond to the final lines by doing a think-pair-share. Have students discuss with a partner why they think it was important to the poet to look at the person shouting the degrading word at her. Have them try to consolidate their answer into 1-5 words and text it to a text wall by using polleverywhere.com.