After reading Fannie Lou Hamer's testimony, it was apparent that she had courage and determination to do whatever it took in order to vote. I found it amazing that even after being kicked out of her home and being severely beaten for trying to exercise her civil right she continued the fight and dedicated her life to the civil rights movement. Another example of her astounding resilience was that even though she did not have much education, she was still able to read and write well enough to be the plantation's timekeeper and later ran for Congress. Her life as a sharecropper was also a representation of the Jim Crow south. Sharecropping was another form of oppression and slavery for the African Americans. Her perseverance and sacrifice brought into light the fact that the African Americans in the South were still being oppressed especially the women. The ratification of the 19th Amendment sadly did not prevent requirements to be created by white people such as literacy test to be given to African Americans who were mostly uneducated. Her story was an important piece of the Black Freedom Struggle because it represented the fight for African American civil rights and awareness to their abilities in politics.

After reading Washington's, "Altanta's Compromise", it became more clear to me that although he championed for progress for the African Americans, he did not completely fought for their equal rights. It seems that White men had influenced him greatly and the feelings of inferiority that was instilled in him growing up still lingered inside him. This was evident because of how he wanted the freedmen to have success but he also encouraged them to continue to keep their head down and work hard for the White men. He also did not encourage them to fight for their right to vote. Dubois however, saw that more needed to be done to in order to actually see progress in the African American's lives. He felt they also needed to hold some power where they can influence change regarding their rights and doing industrial work only benefits the White men. It may have been difficult for many African Americans to decide who they would follow.