Biography

Fannie Lou Hamer

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A middle-aged Black woman in a simple patterned dress is sitting at a table and speaking into a microphone.
Fannie Lou Hamer speaking at a convention in Atlantic City, N.J., 1964.
Source: Warren K. Leffler, Library of Congress.

Hamer was a civil rights activist and native of Mississippi who worked locally to obtain voting rights for Black Mississippians and appeared on the national stage to shed light on the dire injustices within her community. Growing up in the Mississippi Delta, it was not until Hamer attended a meeting sponsored by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) at the age of 44 that she learned Black people had the right to vote. When she then tried to register to vote, she was fired, evicted, and threatened with violence. Hamer was also arrested, beaten, and placed in a Mississippi Jail after sitting in a “whites only” area. In 1963 she served as a SNCC field secretary, a unique role given her age at the time. Working with local organizers and other SNCC members, she helped to organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) as an alternative to the Democratic Party, which was a white-only organization. Hamer then became a national figure after she appeared at the 1964 Democratic Convention to advocate for having MFDP delegates seated. Hamer continued her activism in political organizing and civil rights until her death in 1977.

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    Lesson Plan

    “What Do We Want? Black Power!” From SNCC to the Black Panther Party [Part Two]

    In this multi-part lesson, students will examine the connections between the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and the Black Panther Party for Self Defense (Black Panthers) and the impact of both organizations on civil rights. The second lesson focuses on the Panthers and a cumulative exhibit creation project.

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