Fifty years after Freedom Summer; To Write in the Light of Freedom offers a glimpse into the hearts of the African American youths who attended the Mississippi Freedom Schools in 1964. One of the most successful initiatives of Freedom Summer; more than forty Freedom Schools opened doors to thousands of young African American students. Here they learned civics; politics; and history; curriculum that helped them instead of the degrading lessons supporting segregation and Jim Crow and sanctioned by White Citizen’s Councils. Young people enhanced their self-esteem and gained a new outlook on the future. And at more than a dozen of these schools; students wrote; edited; printed and published their own newspapers. For more than five decades; the Mississippi Freedom Schools have served as powerful models of educational activism. Yet; little has been published that documents black Mississippi youths’ responses to this profound experience.
#1589771 in Books 2014-03-12 2014-03-12Original language:EnglishPDF # 1 9.00 x 1.16 x 6.00l; 1.48 #File Name: 1493169483464 pages
Review
0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. Born into Hitler's War--A compelling account of a young girl's survival!By Sheila D. HuffI anxiously awaited the completion of this book not only because Gisela's daughter Claudia is my best friend; but because I have been a big fan of hers for years. Her life after leaving Germany and coming to the United States is also quite a saga--(I personally think she should have written a longer book to include the later years; or maybe she should do a sequel!) so I knew that the early years would be interesting and engaging. I wasn't disappointed. It was the personal connection that initially made me want to read the story; but after the third or fourth page; I was hooked. She does a superlative job of painting the bleak picture that was her very early childhood; without invoking a tremendous amount of pity from the reader. You sense that she will overcome this time in her life and be all the stronger--and you will be right! For those of us who have never lived through the trauma; famine and personal losses so common in war torn Germany; this book is an eye opener. It gives a clear look into the actual lives of the people who had to be tough to survive--because they had no other choice. I'm so proud that Gisela was able to paint this so vividly for the reader.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This memoir reads like fiction yet is better than fictionBy Sam SmartThis memoir reads like fiction yet is better than fiction. Even the numerous errors in punctuation lend a kind of reality to the book. At first; I thought; "How sad that the book couldn't have been edited better" then found myself enchanted by them; comparing it to paintings by Grandma Moses. Like her; this book fits into a kind of Folk Art genre; not perfect but beautifully written; non-the-less. The point of view is different from anything I've read before: Hitler's war as witnessed by one of Germany's citizens as she grows up during the Nazi occupation of her beloved country. Not at all condescending or arrogant. Simply the story told in detail; details that dramatize without belaboring the point. A must-read for anyone who loves history.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A great read of life at the end of WWII and behind the Iron CurtainBy CustomerThis is a wonderful book recommended to me by the owner of the local yarn shop and the author's daughter. It gives a rare and detailed glimpse behind the iron curtain after WWII. The author is able to recall such vivid details of how food was prepared and daily life was lived under extreme hardship and shortages. Unfortunately the book ends rather abruptly when the family is able to escape to West Berlin when the author is 18. It would have been wonderful to hear how the family made their life adjustments to the "riches" of living in the west and the authori's eventual move to America.
