Fannie Lou Hamer

Fannie Lou Hamer was a Civil Rights activist who encouraged African Americans to register to vote. She began her activism by attending meetings of the Regional Council of Negro Leadership where her interest in participating in Civil Rights was sparked. She registered to vote, a dangerous undertaking at the time, at the urging of Reverend James Bevel, and was soon recruited to work for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. On one trip working for the SNCC, Fannie Lou and her companions were arrested on invented charges and severely beaten by police. Shaken but resolved, after her recovery, she returned to work, holding voter drives and mock elections to encourage African Americans to exercise their rights, however frightening it might be. She participated in the Freedom Summer initiative and helped young activists become involved. Fannie Lou was elected vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1964 and continued to fight for voter registration. Fannie Lou was known for singing uplifting hymns in the darkest of situations and for her steadfast refusal to give up or to be cowed, despite the many threats she received and the physical violence she endured. She held enough respect and sway that President Johnson even tried to stop live coverage of her speech during his election campaign, fearing she would hurt his chances. Fannie Lou Hamer continued to be politically active throughout her life, advocating for the poor and even running for Congress, but her greatest contribution to Civil Rights was how fervently she fought to protect and exercise the right of all people to vote and to have a say in the government of their country. She knew that having a right in name only, is really no right at all if you can’t or won’t exercise it.

Today, be inspired to…Register to vote. You can’t vote if you don’t, and in some places you have to be registered for a certain amount of time before the election, so get crackin’. http://registertovote.org/index.html

Photo credit: Howard.edu