The Power of One Voice: Remembering Fannie Lou Hamer

When you think of bold faith and fearless advocacy, Fannie Lou Hamer is a name that can't be left out of the conversation.

Born into poverty and raised in the deep injustices of the Jim Crow South, she didn't just witness oppression--she stood up and fought it head-on. Armed with nothing but her voice, her unwavering faith in God, and a relentless spirit, Fannie Lou Hamer became a driving force in the fight for voting rights and human dignity.

Her life is a testimony of what it looks like to walk in boldness, speak truth to power, and trust God even when the cost is high.

Her story reminds us: "You can pray until you faint, but unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap."- Fannie Lou Hamer

Humble Beginnings: A Voice Born in Mississippi

Fannie Lou Hamer was born on a plantation in Montgomery County on October 6, 1917, but she was raised in Ruleville, Mississippi (Sunflower County). She was 1 of 20 children, born of her parents James Lee Townsend and Ella Townsend who were sharecroppers in the delta area.

At 6 years old, Fannie was playing alongside the road when a landowner rode by and offered her a job. The landowner stated that if she could pick 30 lbs. of cotton, he would take her to the commissary store where she would be allowed to purchase some cracker jacks at his expense. Determined to follow-through, Fannie picked 30 lbs. of cotton for the landowner and was given the opportunity to ride to the commissary and purchase her a box of cracker jacks and cheese. What she thought was a one-time deal led to her picking 30 lbs., 60lbs, and before she knew it; she was picking 200-300 lbs. of cotton for the landowner.

At 12 years old, Fannie dropped out of school to work in the fields. Even though Fannie and her parents were working extremely hard, they were still poverty-stricken and hungry. Not understanding how it was possible, the only thing Fannie could think of asking her mother was " How come we aren't white?" According to Fannie Lou during an interview, that was her first time being told off and read off at the same time.

In response to young Fannie's comment, her late mother Ella Townsend said, in Fannie’s words during an interview was, " Child, you don't understand what I'm saying right now but as you get older, you'll understand. There's nothing wrong with you being Black and I don't want you to forget that. If God had wanted you to be another color, you'd been another color; don't be ashamed of being Black and respect yourself as child. And as you get older, respect yourself as a Black woman. You might not understand what I'm saying right now, but one day, you will understand."

One day, Fannie's mother bought her very first Black doll, a moment she would never forget. In that moment, she couldn't understand what her mother's intention behind gifting her a Black doll was, but when she had gotten older, she understood. In the words of Fannie Lou, "At that time she was teaching me to respect myself."

"Faith That Fueled the Fight"

At 13 years old, Fannie had begun to understand what her mother had told her, and so she prayed to God for a chance. A chance for Him to allow her to live to become an adult, that way she could get out into the streets and on the turn roads, where she would devote her entire life for seeing that things would be different for any poor person in the State of Mississippi.

"The Turning Point"

In 1962, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, also known as SNCC, came into her community and attended a local church for a mass meeting. While in attendance, Fannie learned for the first time that it was the Blacks constitutional right to register and vote, and how the laws could change many different laws within her town.

On August 31, 1962, Fannie traveled 26 miles to a local county courthouse to register and become a first-class citizen, when she returned home her children, best friend, and her husband's cousin notified her that a man she had once worked for was very upset about her registering.

Shortly after, the man known as, Mr. Marlow, returned back to her home and demanded that she go back to the courthouse and withdraw. Fannie, without hesitation, said she would not return back to the courthouse and withdraw. Mr. Marlow then went on to express how they cannot be having Blacks registering in the state of Mississippi, and how Mississippi cannot be having that kind of thing going on. He went so far as to giving her an ultimatum, stating that if she refused to recant, she would have to leave-- and even if she did agree to recant, it still wasn't promised that she could stay, so she made the decision to just leave that same night in efforts of protecting her family and avoiding any trouble.

On September 10th, 1962, the Tuckers, a family that welcomed Fannie and her family into their residence had bullets shot into their home, as an intimidation tactic to get Fannie to withdraw her registration.

"Sick and Tired... But Never Done"

In Winona, Mississippi 1963, Fannie was heading home from a voter registration workshop when the bus they were travelling on had stopped at a restaurant to allow some of the passengers to use the restroom and grab food. Fannie, who decided to stay on the bus while others went inside, saw commotion from the window and had stepped off to see what had happened; she was arrested along with others by a chief highway officer for being on the property of a segregated business.

Upon arrest, the officer kicked her as she was getting inside of his vehicle. While at the jailhouse, she heard screams and cries from a woman named Annell Ponder, an SNCC member, being brutally beaten by an officer. Moments later, 3 white male officers approached Fannie's cell asking where she was from, she told them and one of the officers decided to verify the information she had given him.

The officials in Ruleville, Mississippi had hatred towards her because she was part of the voter registration, and that led to the officers in Winona County jail forcing 2 Black male inmates to take turns brutally beating her with blackjacks until they became exhausted, an officer also joined by beating her in the head. The beating left her with permanent damage-- a blood clot in the artery of her left eye and a permanent kidney injury to her right side.

Fannie Lou Hamer's arrest photo

In the summer of 1964, Fannie was on the road most of the time conducting interviews, encouraging other citizens to vote, and holding speeches from place to place. That was the year Fannie experienced true dedication from not only the Black folks but the young White folks, who was eager to address and seek change for the issues within the community.

On April 24, 1964, Fannie and other members of the SNCC organized a democratic party. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party is what they called themselves. The party was organized at the Masonic Temple in Jackson, Mississippi, after the failed attempt to join the regular Democratic party in Mississippi.

In the words of SNCC member, Ella Baker, "The MFDP, believes that a political party should be open to all of the people who wish to subscribe to its principles. That means, it's open to even the son of the planter on the plantation you worked, if that son has reached the point that's willing to subscribe to your principles." They went on to challenge the seating of the regular delegation at the National Democratic Convention in Atlantic City, where the nomination of Lyndon B. Johnson was also taking place.

During the speech at the National Democratic Convention, Fannie delivered tis powerful, heartfelt speech before the committee:

"Mr. Chairman and to the credentials of the committee, my name is Fannie Lou Hamer, and I live at 626 East Lafayette Street, Ruleville, Mississippi, Sunflower County, the home of Sentor James O. Eastland and Senator Stennis. All of this is on the account of, we want to register, to become first-class citizens, and if the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I question America. Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off of the hook because our lives be threatened daily because we want to live like decent human beings in America? Thank you."

Fannie Lou Hamer at the National Democratic Convention

The chairman and committee came to decision to offer Fannie and her team only two seats. Not settling or willing to compromise, Fannie turned down the offer, because she believed that if it's for her; don't offer a piece of it, instead give all of it. After the convention, Fannie and two women from SNCC decided to run for Congress, and just like everything else they've attempted, that too received pushed back.

Unable to get their names placed on the ballots, they had made their own freedom ballots with not only their names, but the names of their white opponents as well. Fannie received 33, 009 votes against her opponents 49 votes, and on January 4, 1965, The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party decided to go to Washington to make the challenge for five representative seats at the House of Representatives which later led to their arrest with a charge of unlawful occupancy of a public building.

The constant pressure of The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party contributed to passing the Voting Rights Act of 1965.

" Our top priority is doing what we have to do here in our own country to try to heal some of the wounds that's so very deep, and we're going to fight for peace, we're going to demand peace--until every one of us have peace in the United States." - Fannie Lou Hamer

In 1969, Fannie Lou Hamer established Freedom Farm Cooperation, a business that allowed her to take care of her family and made sure they wouldn't go hungry again. It also provided food, housing, clothes and jobs for so many others for 7 years before closing in 1976.

I just don't want people to have to give me a welfare check, I want some land. If you give us food, we can eat a few days. But if you give us the tools, we'll produce for ourselves.

In 1977, after complications from cancer, hypertension, and cancer; Fannie Lou Hamer joined our Father in Heaven at age 59. She is buried on the property of Freedom Farm in Ruleville, Mississippi.

Takeaway

Fannie Lou Hamer embodied Faith, Sacrifice, Perseverance, Resilience, Courage, and Grace. What I've learned in the research of her life is that--no matter what life throws at us, who hates us, and who doesn't see our vision-- do not quit. When people are hating you, cursing you, and trying to silence you; keep your faith in Jesus, because the assignment is bigger than you. Sometimes the sacrifices we make aren't for us to benefit off of, but for the generations after us. Her grit and dedication is the reason why Black folks can freely vote in America today--without the hassle and intimidation of our white counterparts.

So today and always, we give a strong Thank You to the lovely, the bold, and the powerhouse--

Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer.