This latest picture book in the Do Great Things for God series from The Good Book Company introduces young readers to Fannie Lou Hamer. Fannie grew up in Mississippi, leaving school at age six to work in cotton fields, and not able to vote due to laws making it difficult for black people to vote. Her Christian beliefs, that all people should be heard and treated with respect, motivated her to become a Freedom Fighter.
Though she faced difficulties and abuse while working for the SNCC (Southern Christian Leadership Conferences), she endured as well as “prayed for God to have mercy on the people who hated her so much”. Fannie went to Washington DC and gave a televised speech to proclaim to the nation the atrocities she experienced and that citizens are not free until all people, no matter their skin color, are free. Fannie, or Mother Hammer, believe strongly that “each life is precious to God, and so each life was precious.”
It’s beautiful to hear how Fannie did not turn to hate, but to love despite all of the horrific things that happened to her. Her faith in God helped her to press on with courage and to proclaim biblically based truths to the nation. Fannie Lou Hamer: The Courageous Woman Who Marched for Dignity by K.A. Ellis, is a nice short biography to help kids understand how our nation did not always value human lives in a way that was pleasing to God (or how a biblical worldview can help better a country). It is also inspiring to hear how she chose to do what is right, even when it was hard or came at a great cost.
[The publisher sent me this book for review consideration but all opinions are my own.]
Fannie Lou Hamer: The Courageous Woman Who Marched for Dignity
by K.A. Ellis
The Good Book Company, 2024
24 pages
Lauren Ducommun 
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