Summary Of Shining In The Dark By Martha Prescod Norman

“Shining in the Dark: Black Women and The Struggle for the Vote, 1955-1965” by Martha Prescod Norman outlines the enduring struggle of black women fighting for the rights of women and black Americans yet becoming widely forgotten by history. The document starts by telling the harrowing stories of Mrs. Georgia Mae Turner and Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer. They are women who endured evictions, harsh living conditions, and physical violence as a result of their fight for suffering. Norman wrote about the role of “Movement Mamas” in the civil rights movement. These community women sheltered, fed and protected key players in civil rights organizations along with key players themselves. They engaged in protest, picketing, and strategizing. Norman then expands her analysis to the work of black women in their community. Pointing out that the women weren't just the backbone of the community, but every cell in the body.
Not because they want to vote for themselves, or be able to sit at a lunch counter. They did it for the future of their community. Mrs Turner once said, “I registered for my children so they won't have to stand at the back door like I said in the rain and cold.” Her point of view is further encapsulated by an exchange she had with her grandson. Mrs. Turner said “I tell you child I made up my mind I'm ready to go down right here on this tent ground not for my sake I'm too old but for yours, I'm ready to go down right here on this tent ground for you little man. and for these women to be as selfless as they are and are yet forgotten by their brothers in blackness is