Fannie Lou Hamer was an African American civil rights activist and leader in the civil rights movement. She was born October 6, 1917, and is best known for her work in the struggle for voting rights, which she dedicated her life to fighting for. Hamer was one of the most influential figures in the struggle for civil rights, and her legacy is still relevant today.
Hamer, who was born into a poor, sharecropping family in the Mississippi Delta, was inspired to join the civil rights movement after attending a voting rights workshop in 1962 organized by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). This Committee was dedicated to ensuring Black Americans in the Jim Crow South knew of their right to vote. This was when Hamer first found out about her right to vote. She joined SNCC and vowed to register and exercise her right to vote.
In August 1962, she and 17 other activists traveled to Indianola, IA to register to vote. White supremacy was prevalent, so they knew their journey to the voter registration rolls would not be easy. Once at the courthouse, only 2 were allowed to register at a time, which required passing a literacy test. Although she did not pass the literacy test her first time registering, she eventually passed and paid the poll tax so she could vote. She quickly became a leader in the civil rights movement, and her work in the struggle for voting rights was instrumental in getting the 1965 Voting Rights Act passed.
She attended the 1964 Democratic National Convention with her group, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). The MFDP advocated that democratic leaders in Mississippi were illegally elected since Black Americans were denied the right to vote in the state. Hamer also spoke about her personal experiences with trying to register to vote and her time and abuse in jail after being arrested for registering Black voters. Her powerful speech was broadcast on national television.
Hamer was a powerful orator and advocate for voting rights and civil rights in general. She traveled the country and spoke out against racial injustice, advocating for the rights of African Americans and other people of color. She founded the National Women’s Political Caucus, an organization dedicated to expanding women’s participation in all areas of political and public life. She also campaigned for better access to education, healthcare, and employment opportunities for all African Americans.
Hamer's legacy still lives on today. Her work in the struggle for voting rights remains important, and her call for civil rights continues to resonate with those who are still trying to fight for justice. Her work is a reminder of the importance of standing up for what is right and fighting for what is just.
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Read more about Hamer:
- “The Sweat and Blood of Fannie Lou Hamer:" How a would-be voter became a civil rights legend | National Endowment for the Humanities
- Fannie Lou Hamer’s Dauntless Fight for Black Americans’ Right to Vote | Smithsonian Magazine
Listen to Hamer:
- “I Didn’t Know Anything About Voting:” Fannie Lou Hamer On The Mississippi Voter Registration Campaign | History Matters
