Lighting the Fires of Freedom: African American Women in the Civil…

Civil Rights history from women deeply invested in the cause
An excellent perspective on Civil Rights history from the vantage point of several pioneering women in the movement, through their direct tales of their personal experiences and growth. The author has done an excellent job of synthesizing these stories into a very readable and thoughtful volume.

Lighting the Fires of Freedom is inspiring and full of strength, purpose, drive, and leadership
APRIL 22, 2018 IN BOOK REVIEWS, ORAL HISTORYLighting the Fires of Freedom by Janet Dewart Bell is a collection of oral histories recorded either in person or over the phone of 9 African American women whose involvement in the Civil Rights Movement, and whose accomplishments beyond that were both important and notable. However we rarely, if ever, hear their names mentioned nowadays. Janet Dewart Bell shines a necessary light on these women, on their accomplishments and contributions to the movement and to society, and on the ongoing work they have done through their lives. Lighting the Fires of Freedom gives us the voices of Leah Chase, Dr June Jackson Christmas, Aileen Clarke Hernandez, Diane Nash, Judy Richardson, Kathleen Cleaver, Gay McDougall, Gloria Richardson, and Myrlie Evers.I’ve made it a priority this year to read as diverse as possible, and also as close to the source as possible. I jumped on this book as soon as I saw it as there is so much more to the civil rights movement and beyond that we never hear about. Women, especially African American women seem to be erased from the history they helped create (we never hear about Rosa Park’s activism before the famous bus incident for example), so this book is a much needed, and extremely important read.I love how Janet Dewart Bell makes sure each of the women’s voices is rendered correctly in her own words. It honestly feels as if you can hear them speak, their tone and way of speaking is very clear in the narrative. Oral histories are not always easy to read, and some of them flow more easily than others. I also loved how each narrative encompasses the global theme of leadership in the civil rights movement, and how important women were in keeping the movement actually moving.I have only lived in the US for about 14 years, but still, I feel like I should have known about at least a few of these women before I read this book. Some of these women are now in their 90’s (Aileen Hernandez passed away last year at 90), and their collective and individual contributions are amazing. They are honestly a real inspiration, and I am going to be researching all of them to learn as much as I can about them.Lighting the Fires of Freedom is inspiring and full of strength, purpose, drive, and leadership.

Good read
Valuable collection

Powerful women — many of whom we never knew
The Civil Rights movement of the 60’s leaves a powerful memory with us — but there are many powerful African American women whose names we never knew — although we may have heard their voices manifested in the powerful actions of those times, we were not acquainted with many of these women and their powerful histories. “Lighting The Fires of Freedom” brings these women to the forefront with the unerring accuracy and strength of narrative — of THIER own voices. And these voices have MUCH to tell us, to teach us:Leah ChaseDr. June Jackson ChristmasAileen HernandezDiane NashJudy RichardsonKathleen CleaverGay McDougallGloria RichardsonMyrlie Eversand let us not forget the exceptional Author/Editor, Janet Deward Bell, herself an activist for social justice, who crafted this book in such a way that it speaks beautifully, with the measured cadence of the strength and sensibility of these formidable and memorable women’s voices.As I read this book, I felt that each woman was speaking to me, in a determined, soft, strong, not-to-be-stopped voice, recounting their experiences with injustice from the time they were little girls; all these injustices would elicit a gasp and outrage from most of us today, but all of which were “accepted” and administered unfailingly back then by the white powers-that-be, on little girls to college graduates — just because of the color of their skin.These women had something in common, in addition to their determination and strength in the face of adversity — they had role models in their parents and friends who questioned these injustices and who did what they could to change these — despite the great odds — and sometimes won. Each victory however, had its price and many times being disillusioned and thwarted was a heavy price to pay. Despite the odds, perseverance opened doors, led to careers and formed a united front against persecution.This is a small but might book, worthy of a slow, deliberate read. And imagine — those women, unsung heroes, who do not grace these pages — who also drew on their strength, convictions and too often — their suffering, to push forward for justice.