“Nobody's free until everybody's free” - Fannie Lou Hamer
(Fannie Lou Hamer)
Fannie Lou Hamer was born as Fannie Lou Townsend on October 6th, 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi, USA. In 1919 her family moved to Sunflower County, MS. At the age of 6 Townsend picked cotton with her family to make money. She went to school from 1924 to 1930 when she had to drop out. By 1930 at the age of 13 she could pick 200 to 300 pounds of cotton a day. In 1944 Townsend was selected to be the plantation's time and record keeper. In 1945 she married Perry Hamer. She then changed her last name to Hamer. They worked together on the plantation for the next 18 years. In the 1950’s Hamer attended several annual conferences of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership (RCNL). The annual RCNL conferences featured entertainers such as Mahalia Jackson and speakers such as Thurgood Marshall. In 1961 Hamer had surgery to remove a tumor but during the surgery she was given a hysterectomy without her consent by a white doctor as a part of the state of Mississippi's plan to reduce the number of poor blacks in the state. In 1962 she traveled on a rented bus with attendees of member of SNCC’s Rev. Bevel to Indianola, MS to register to vote. Hamer was then recruited to SNCC and she began traveling around the South doing activist work for the organization.
(Hamer in 1962)
On June 9, 1963, Hamer was on her way back from Charleston, SC with other activists from a literacy workshop they Stopped in Winona, MS, and the group was arrested on a false charge and jailed. The whole group including Hamer were beat by the police almost fatally. It took her over a month to recover and left profound physical and psychological effects. Hamer then returned to Mississippi to organize voter registration drives, including the "Freedom Ballot Campaign", a mock election, in 1963, and the "Freedom Summer" initiative in 1964.
(Hamer in 1963)
In 1964 Hamer was elected Vice Chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Hamer who sang her signature hymns, drew a great deal of attention from the media. Hamer recounted the problems she had encountered in registration, and the ordeal of the jail in Winona to the Convention's Credentials Committee. President Johnson being fearful of the power of Hamer's testimony on live television called an emergency press conference in an effort to divert press coverage from Hamer.
(Hamer in 1964)
In 1964 and 1965 Hamer ran for Congress, but did not win. Hamer also worked on other projects such as grassroots-level Head Start programs, the Freedom Farm Cooperative in Sunflower County, and Martin Luther King, Jr.'s Poor People's Campaign.
(Hamer (Middle) in 1971)
In 1972 Hamer was elected as a national party delegate of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.
(Hamer in 1972)
On March 14th, 1977 Fannie Lou Hamer died of hypertension and breast cancer in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. She was 59 years old. Today is the 40th anniversary of her death. Take time to remember this great civil rights activist today.
Videos of Fannie Lou Hamer
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07PwNVCZCcY “Fannie Lou Hamer's Powerful Testimony, "Freedom Summer" clip 19”
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIZ2a2J5v3g “Fannie Lou Hamer Tells Her Story 1963”
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