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Sue [Lorenzi] Sojourner
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Thunder of Freedom: Black Leadership and the Transformation of 1960s Mississippi (Civil Rights and the Struggle for Black Equality in the Twentieth Century) Kindle Edition

by Sue [Lorenzi] Sojourner (Author), Cheryl Reitan (Author), John Dittmer (Foreword) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 15 ratings
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A veteran of the civil right movement recounts the events of Freedom Summer in Mississippi through oral histories, personal reflections and photos.

The world's eyes were on Mississippi during the summer of 1964, when civil rights activists launched an ambitious African American voter registration project and were met with violent resistance from white supremacists. Sue Sojourner and her husband arrived in Holmes County, Mississippi, in the wake of this historic time, known as Freedom Summer.

From September 1964 until her departure from the state in 1969, Sojourner collected an incredible number of documents, oral histories, and photographs chronicling the dramatic events she witnessed. In Thunder of Freedom, written with Cheryl Reitan, Sojourner presents a fascinating account of one of the civil rights movement's most active and broad-based community organizing operations in the South.

Sojourner shares her personal experiences as well as insights into race relations in the 1960s South, providing a unique look at the struggle for rights and equality in Mississippi. Illustrated with selections from Sojourner's acclaimed catalog of photographs, this profound book tells the powerful, often intimate stories of ordinary people who accomplished extraordinary things.
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  1. Part of series
    Civil Rights and the Struggle for Black Equality in the Twentieth Century
  2. Print length
    379 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    The University Press of Kentucky
  6. Publication date
    February 8, 2013
  7. File size
    11806 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Sue Sojourner's account of her mid-1960s work in Holmes County, Mississippi, is an important, engaging manuscript and one that speaks to a number of significant themes and topics in the scholarship of the civil rights movement."―Emilye Crosby, Civil Rights History from the Ground Up: Local Struggles, a National Movement

"Thunder of Freedom captures the struggles, the stories, and the spirit of the movement and the community organizing that brought about great change in that time and place. Now is the time to continue the march toward freedom until there is a level playing field for every child in Mississippi and in America."― Marian Wright Edelman, Children's Defense Fund

Finalist for the Minnesota Book Awards for memoir

"Thunder of Freedom is an informative read that provides important analysis and firsthand accounts of the human rights movement in Mississippi."―The Griot

About the Author

Sue Lorenzi Sojourner is a veteran of the civil rights movement who worked with the citizens of Holmes County, Mississippi from fall 1964 through summer 1969 to achieve racial equality. She has produced two photography exhibitions using reproductions of her original 1960s photographs. Cheryl Reitan is a university administrator and the editor of the alumni magazine for the University of Minnesota–Duluth. She has published short stories and articles in numerous literary and professional journals.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00AEV85YI
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ The University Press of Kentucky (February 8, 2013)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ February 8, 2013
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 11806 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 379 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 15 ratings

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Sue [Lorenzi] Sojourner

Sue [Lorenzi] Sojourner

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Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
15 global ratings
Poetry book call "The Small Blades Hurt" under the cover of "Thunder of Freedom"
1 Star
Poetry book call "The Small Blades Hurt" under the cover of "Thunder of Freedom"
I just received this highly anticipated hardcover copy of the book which entailed the details regarding the civil right activism in MS, which my family was an integral part of. My Great Grandfather is the man on the cover, Ozell Mitchell. My Dad has a copy but I wanted a hardcopy for my children. Very disappointed to open it and see a poetry book. It is an entirely different book. On my way to UPS to return it now.
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Top reviews from the United States

Trudy Cox
5.0 out of 5 stars Voters rights struggles in Holmes County, Mississippi in the latter 1960s
Reviewed in the United States on July 14, 2013
Verified Purchase
This is a very important story about the struggle black citizens of Mississippi had to fulfill their right to vote in the 1960s. This writer told this story with great appreciation and respect for the citizens of Holmes County, Mississippi. Sue Sojourner and her husband, Henry Lorenzi spent the years from 1964 to 1969 assisting in community building and voter registration in this very racist and disenfranchized area. Sue kept meticulous notes on the efforts in which they participated. She collected massive documentation and produced beautiful photographs of the African American folks of the region. From these resources she has knitted for us a beautifully written story in which to see and understand what happened there.
The book has been in production since that time and is as important now as it has finally appeared. We gain insight of the large role local people played in transformation of 1960s Mississippi and reminds us to be very cautious to guard these freedoms and protect the work accomplished while we continue to transform the whole United States.
4 people found this helpful
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jeffery b. howell
5.0 out of 5 stars Grass roots civil rights
Reviewed in the United States on September 12, 2017
Verified Purchase
This is the memoir of a young white woman and her husband as they came to Holmes County Mississippi in the late 1960s to help with the Civil Rights Movement. In this wonderful book, she chronicles the heroic efforts of African Americans in the communities of Mileston and Lexington and their efforts to gain civil rights from a resistant white minority. This is not a Martin Luther King nonviolent we shall overcome book. This book chronicles the efforts of blacks who believed in self-defense and direct action to take power away from the white establishment. This is a very good book to start an understanding Mississippi of the 1960s.
3 people found this helpful
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Captive Yet Free
5.0 out of 5 stars Book -- Thunder of Freedom
Reviewed in the United States on May 13, 2014
Verified Purchase
Well written, easy reading. History with which we should all be acquainted. The author lives in my senior highrise--an extra special treat.
3 people found this helpful
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Tash Renee'
1.0 out of 5 stars Poetry book call "The Small Blades Hurt" under the cover of "Thunder of Freedom"
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020
Verified Purchase
I just received this highly anticipated hardcover copy of the book which entailed the details regarding the civil right activism in MS, which my family was an integral part of. My Great Grandfather is the man on the cover, Ozell Mitchell. My Dad has a copy but I wanted a hardcopy for my children. Very disappointed to open it and see a poetry book. It is an entirely different book. On my way to UPS to return it now.
Customer image
Tash Renee'
1.0 out of 5 stars Poetry book call "The Small Blades Hurt" under the cover of "Thunder of Freedom"
Reviewed in the United States on December 7, 2020
I just received this highly anticipated hardcover copy of the book which entailed the details regarding the civil right activism in MS, which my family was an integral part of. My Great Grandfather is the man on the cover, Ozell Mitchell. My Dad has a copy but I wanted a hardcopy for my children. Very disappointed to open it and see a poetry book. It is an entirely different book. On my way to UPS to return it now.
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One person found this helpful
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Milly
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on September 3, 2015
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Love the history
2 people found this helpful
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Brown Eyes
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on May 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
This was a very informative book. I knew that there were struggles but this hits close to home
3 people found this helpful
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Ann Klefstad
5.0 out of 5 stars Voting rights battle still on: a timely book
Reviewed in the United States on November 15, 2014
Very timely and moving historical account of the grass-roots struggle of Southern black citizens for the vote. Sue Sojourner was a civil rights worker collaborating with these rural people, who did heroic work with the courage of lions. Her photographs from those days, and her memories, recorded and written with the help of Cheryl Reitan, give vivid testimony to how hard-won the right to vote was. The gutting of the Voting Rights Act this year, and the immediate moves made by Southern states to prevent minority people from voting, proves again that this right is one that was fought for at great cost-- it was never "given." It still isn't. Buy this book and give it to your representative, your senator, your talk-radio-listening cousin . . . it matters.
3 people found this helpful
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Tazz T
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on August 2, 2015
Wonderfully written book. I was very impressed and honored reading this history about my great-grandmother and Uncle.
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ioletoti
5.0 out of 5 stars Thunder of Freedom: Black Leadership and the Transformation of 1960s Mississippi (Inglese) Copertina rigida – 15 ott 2012
Reviewed in Italy on September 19, 2015
Verified Purchase
il libro e' arrivato con tempestivita' in ottimo stato - libro documentario realistico della situazione - complimenti agli autori del testo e della fotografia
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