PAST PRESENT with Lesa Cline-Ransome – What is the true meaning of FREEDOM?
In this special episode of Past Present – Giving Past Stories New Life, host Lesa Cline-Ransome explores the theme of “freedom” and how it manifests throughout various points in history:
• Incorporating Civil Rights and Freedom Fighters in FIGHTING WITH LOVE: THE LEGACY OF JOHN LEWIS
• Westward migration in ONE BIG OPEN SKY
• Education and Resistance in THEY CALL ME TEACH: LESSONS IN FREEDOM
About the Book
Back inside the store
I write up receipts
for Master’s deliveries
for Master’s orders
In ’tween
I write up a receipt
for her freedom
The young man known as Teach secretly learned to read, write, and use numbers growing up alongside the master’s son. And although on this Southern plantation these are skills he can never flaunt, Teach doesn’t keep them to himself: In the course of a week, he’ll teach little ones the alphabet in the corner stall of a stable and hold a moonlit session where men scratch letters in the dirt. He’ll decipher a discarded letter bearing news of Yankee soldiers and forge a pass for a woman hoping to buy precious time on a perilous journey north. And come Sunday, Teach will cross the swamp to a hidden cabin, reading aloud to the congregation God’s immortal words to the pharaoh: Let my people go. With a spare, moving first-person narration told in an era-appropriate dialect, complemented by stunning watercolor illustrations, the celebrated duo of Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome honor the bravery and generosity of spirit behind countless untold acts of resistance during the time of slavery. An author’s note highlights the vital role of literacy and education toward the securing of freedom, both historically and to the present day. Illustrated by James E. Ransome
About the Book
Three women narrate a perilous wagon journey westward that could set them free–or cost them everything they have–in this intergenerational verse novel that explores the history of the Black homesteader movement.
1879, Mississippi. Young dreamer Lettie may have her head in the stars, but her body is on a covered wagon heading westward. Her father, Thomas, promises that Nebraska will be everything the family needs: an opportunity to claim the independence they've strived for over generations on their very own plot of land.
But Thomas' hopes–and mouth–are bigger than his ability to follow through. With few supplies and even less money, the only thing that feels certain is danger.
Right after the war ended/and we were free/we believed/all of us did/that couldn't nothing hurt us/the way master had when we were slaves/Couldn't no one tell us/how to live/how to die.
Lettie, her mother, Sylvia, and young teacher Philomena are free from slavery–but bound by poverty, access to opportunity, and patriarchal social structures. Will these women survive the hardships of their journey? And as Thomas' desire for control overpowers his common sense, will they truly be free once they get there?
Coretta Scott King Honor-winning author Lesa Cline-Ransome's striking verse masterfully portrays an underrepresented historical era. Tackling powerful themes of autonomy and Black self-emancipation, Cline-Ransome offers readers an intimate look into the lives of three women and an expansive portrait of generations striving for their promised freedom.
About the Book
The “informative, resounding” (Booklist, starred review), and “inspiring” (The Horn Book, starred review) story of a groundbreaking civil rights leader John Lewis comes to life in this compelling and beautifully told, “excellent” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review) nonfiction picture book by the award-winning team Lesa Cline-Ransome and James E. Ransome.
John Lewis left a cotton farm in Alabama to join the fight for civil rights when he was only a teenager. He soon became a leader of a movement that changed the nation. Walking at the side of his mentor, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Lewis was led by his belief in peaceful action and voting rights. Today and always his work and legacy live on. Illustrated by James E. Ransome
ABOUT Lesa Cline-Ransome
Lesa Cline-Ransome is the author of almost twenty books for young readers, including Before She Was Harriet and the Finding Langston trilogy. Her work has received a plethora of honors, including dozens of starred reviews, NAACP Image Award nominations, a Coretta Scott King Honor, and a Christopher Award, and has been named to ALA Notable Books and Bank Street Best Children’s Books lists. She lives in Rhinebeck, NY.
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