Stirring poems and stunning collage illustrations combine to celebrate the life of Fannie Lou Hamer, a champion of equal voting rights."I am sick and tired of being sick and tired."Despite fierce prejudice and abuse, even being beaten to within an inch of her life, Fannie Lou Hamer was a champion of civil rights from the 1950s until her death in 1977. Integral to the Freedom Summer of 1964, Ms. Hamer gave a speech at the Democratic National Convention that, despite President Johnsons interference, aired on national TV news and spurred the nation to support the Freedom Democrats. Featuring vibrant mixed-media art full of intricate detail, Voice of Freedom celebrates Fannie Lou Hamers life and legacy with a message of hope, determination, and strength.

 

This book is the winner of numerous awards. It was recognised in the New Talent category by the Coretta Scott King Award. Presented annually since 1970 by the American Library Association to books by African-America authors and illustrators, this award recognizes excellence in promoting a deeper understanding of the African-American Experience. It was recognised in the Nonfiction category by the Children's Book Committee Award. It also was recognised by the Caldecott Award. The Caldecott Medal was named in honor of nineteenth-century English illustrator Randolph Caldecott. It is awarded annually by the Association for Library Service to Children, a division of the American Library Association, to the artist of the most distinguished American picture book for children. It was recognised in the Nonfiction category by the Parents' Choice Award. Also it was recognised by the Robert F Sibert Informational Book Award.

There are 56 pages in this book. This book was published 2015 by Candlewick Press, U. S. .

Carole Boston Weatherford is an avid baseball fan and an award-winning poet. She has written more than a dozen books for children. She lives in High Point, North Carolina, with her husband, Ronald; their two children; and a lazy beagle. Ekua Holmes is a fine artist whose work explores themes of family, relationships, hope, and faith. The first children's book she illustrated is Carole Boston Weatherford's Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer , which was a Caldecott Honor Book and a Robert F. Sibert Honor Book and for which she also won the John Steptoe New Talent Illustrator Award. Ekua Holmes lives in Boston.