Have you heard of Fannie Lou Hamer? It’s probably been within the last five years that I’ve heard her name. I bought a shirt from Target with a list of Black women’s names on it and hers was there. I knew about Sojourner Truth, Maya Angelou, Harriet Tubman, Ida B. Wells, but didn’t know anything about Fannie Lou Hamer. I decided to research her and boy did I learn some things. She was a resilient Black woman.
- Born in 1917 in Mississippi
- 20th child of her sharecropping parents
- Civil Rights & Voting Rights Activist
- Wife, mother to adoptive daughters, and honorary member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
- Received a hysterectomy without her consent from a white doctor. This type of practice was called the “Mississippi appendectomy”. It’s goal was to reduce the Black population.
- Physically and verbally abused by white supremacists. Suffered life-long injuries from the brutal beatings.
- Famous quote- I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired”.
- Ran for Congress
- Founder of Freedom Farms Cooperative. It’s purpose was to combat hunger and poverty in the MS Delta area. Many families were sharecroppers and were threatened by the landowners if they were to vote they wouldn’t be able to eat. It also provided 200 units of affordable housing, that are still present today.
- Co-founder of Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. It was created to oppose the all white Democratic Party. Her speech that was televised at the DNC in 1964 was instrumental in the passing of the Voters Registration Act in 1965 by President Lyndon B. Johnson.
- Died in 1977 at the age of 59 from breast cancer
I definitely appreciate all of the hard work Mrs. Hamer put forth to help the Black community! I hope you learned at least one thing that you didn’t know before.