Call Me Miss Hamilton: One Woman's Case for Equality and Respect

by Carole Boston Weatherford, Jeffery Boston Weatherford (Illustrator)

Overview

Discover the true story of the woman Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. nicknamed "Red" because of her fiery spirit!

Mary Hamilton grew up knowing right from wrong. She was proud to be Black, and when the chance came along to join the Civil Rights Movement and become a Freedom Rider, she was eager to fight for what she believed in. Mary was arrested again and again—and she did not back down when faced with insults or disrespect. In an Alabama court, a white prosecutor called her by her first name, but she refused to answer unless he called her “Miss Hamilton.” The judge charged her with contempt of court, but that wasn’t the end of it. Miss Mary Hamilton fought the contempt charge all the way to the Supreme Court.

Powerful free verse from Carole Boston Weatherford and striking scratchboard illustrations by Jeffery Boston Weatherford, accompanied by archival photographs, honor this unsung heroine who took a stand for respect—and won.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781541560406
Publisher:	Lerner Publishing Group
Publication date:	02/01/2022
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	643,616
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 9.60(h) x 0.30(d)
Lexile:	1040L (what's this?)
Age Range:	8 - 9 Years

About the Author

Carole Boston Weatherford is the author of numerous award-winning books. Her picture book BOX: Henry Brown Mails Himself to Freedom, illustrated by Michele Wood received a Newbery Honor. Unspeakable: The Tulsa Race Massacre, illustrated by the late Floyd Cooper, was a National Book Award longlist title, won the Coretta Scott King Award for author and illustrator, and received a Caldecott Honor and a Sibert Honor. When she's not traveling or visiting museums, Carole is mining the past for family stories, fading traditions, and forgotten struggles. She lives in North Carolina.

Jeffery Boston Weatherford is an award-winning illustrator, poet, and founder of the global hip hop collective Triiibe Worldwide. Jeffery earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from Howard University where he was a Romare Bearden Scholar. As a teaching artist for the National Book Foundation, he has lectured, performed and conducted workshops in the U.S., Africa, and the Middle East. His illustrated titles include You Can Fly: The Tuskegee Airmen, Africa, A Bat Cave: an Abecedarian Bedtime Chronicle, and Call Me Miss Hamilton. He lives and works in Maryland.

Editorial Reviews

12/13/2021

In this stirring profile, the mother-son author-illustrator team center Mary Lucille Hamilton (1935–2002), a Black civil rights activist and educator whose 1964 Supreme Court case, Hamilton v. Alabama, ensured that people of color would be addressed by courtesy titles and last names in court, like their white counterparts. Carole Boston Weatherford provides unflinching narration of Hamilton’s “fiery spirit” and nonviolent resistance: “Mary had news for that judge. She was not afraid to fight in court for what’s right. With NAACP lawyers on her side, she fought the contempt charge all the way to the United States Supreme Court.” Collages made of photographs and fine-lined sketches on scratchboard by Jeffery Boston Weatherford, combined with boldly graphical book design, give the picture book a cinematic quality, placing due emphasis on Miss Hamilton’s landmark case. Back matter features a note on names, a timeline with photographs, and further reading. Ages 7–11. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

"Weatherford introduces young readers to this lesser-known changemaker who challenged the court system for due respect. . . . Lending to this powerful story is mixed-media artwork that blends expressive black-and-white scratchboard illustrations with tinted photos from the time period."—starred, Booklist

From the Publisher

02/01/2022

Gr 2–4—Mary Hamilton was a devoted activist in the Civil Rights Movement, a freedom rider and the first woman to head the southern region of CORE, the Congress of Racial Equality. She was repeatedly arrested for her activism, and she insisted that jailers, court figures, and elected officials refer to her as Miss Hamilton, giving her the honorific typically denied to African Americans at the time. When she refused to answer a prosecutor who used only her first name, a judge held Hamilton in contempt of court. Her appeal went to the Supreme Court, where the justices ruled that all individuals, regardless of race, deserve to be addressed with respect in court. Weatherford's free verse powerfully and concisely conveys the realities of racism and the threats faced by Hamilton and other activists. The quality and appeal of the book is complicated by the artwork. The digital scratch board illustrations are unique and effective when depicting scenes such as the Supreme Court Building, or details of items like a tea table, but less so in close portraiture of Hamilton and other people. The technique leaves lines scratched across the subjects' skin and frequently results in uneven facial features, which may be stylistically distracting for literal-minded children. The illustrations are collaged with photographs, which add an appropriate sense of realism and immediacy. VERDICT Hamilton's inspiring story has not been the focus of any other book, and for that fact alone it is deserving of shelf space. This evocative and informative story of an unsung heroine is recommended for general purchase.—Elizabeth Lovsin

School Library Journal

2022-01-12
Young readers are introduced to the inspiring life of lesser-known civil rights leader Mary Hamilton.

Weatherford recounts that as a child, Mary had a “fighting spirit” and proudly embraced her African American identity despite the fact that her “skin was so light, she could have been mistaken for white.” She grew up to attend a genteel all-girls college where she learned that addressing people by their proper titles was “a sign of COURTESY AND RESPECT,” and she pursued a teaching career. Hamilton became the first woman head of the Congress of Racial Equality’s Southern region and was frequently arrested while participating in civil rights protests. When a White prosecutor referred to her as “Mary,” she insisted on being addressed by the honorific “Miss.” Charged with contempt of court, she took her case all the way to the Supreme Court, which ruled that all people should be entitled to the same respectful forms of address, regardless of race. Weatherford’s text is straightforward, unfolding the story in pithy, reportorial prose. Bold fonts and all-caps typography help emphasize the fierce moral urgency of the civil rights movement. With a combination of black-and-white photos (including a montage of portraits of Hamilton’s relatives) and scratchboard art, the book presents iconic, unvarnished images of the civil rights era and captures Hamilton’s bold determination. Fans of Weatherford’s Voices of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer (2015) will enjoy this visually interesting picture book. Backmatter includes a timeline of the civil rights movement.

Essential reading for teaching children about the importance of demanding equality and respect. (author's note, further reading) (Picture-book biography. 7-11)

Kirkus Reviews

A chorus of stringed instruments accompanies narrator Adenrele Ojo as she introduces young listeners to the life of Mary Hamilton, an African-American civil rights activist. Miss Hamilton was routinely arrested while protesting in the early 1960s. During the various legal processes, she refused to respond when referred to by her first name only, setting the stage for the Supreme Court case Hamilton v. Alabama. Miss Hamilton’s case upheld the right of Blacks to the same courtesies as whites with regard to forms of address during legal processes. Ojo offers listeners an impeccably paced and forthright performance combined with a musical score that suggests the conflict of the Civil Rights movement and reflects Miss Hamilton’s success in establishing dignified civil discourse for all in our justice system. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

JUNE 2022 - AudioFile