The Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change
Hamer, Fannie Lou
b. 1917 - d. 1977
Fannie Lou Hamer was born in Montgomery County, Mississippi. A sharecropper and timekeeper for a plantation owner, she was fired in 1962 after trying to register to vote. Later, Hamer was severely beaten in jail, suffering permanent kidney damage and partial blindness. A field organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), she helped organize the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDF). At the 1964 Democratic National Convention, Hamer made national headlines by challenging the all-white Mississippi delegation. Dr. King joined her in negotiations. The MFDF refused as undemocratic the two at-large seats offered by the party; the Convention agreed not to seat future delegations from states that denied voting rights. In 1968, Hamer went to the Democratic National Convention as a delegate. She founded the Freedom Farms Corporation to help poor farmers.
Associated Archive Content : 7 results
Annual Report by MLKDr. King illustrates in his annual report the innovative changes that have occurred within the country, as well as the world. He also expresses the Republican stand point on civil rights and the constant concern of racism. |
Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in AmericaStokely Carmichael and Dr. Charles Hamilton are in partnership with SNCC to promote the Black Power Movement. SNCC creates "freedom gifts" to provide the community with the expression of the "humanistic spirit" and goal of the movement. These freedom gifts range from posters, poetry, calendars, and more. |
Helping Across the SouthOperation Freedom is an organization that originally began in west Tennessee to aid African Americans that were wrongly evicted from their homes due to the white power structure. The committees of Operation Freedom have expanded to other southern states where their help is needed. |
Highlander Reports: Black Power in MississipiIn this newsletter, the writers speak about various issues concerning African Americans and their discrimination in politics. |
Letter from Fannie Lou Hamer to FriendsMrs. Fannie Lou Hamer requests the help of 'Friends', pertaining to voting rights in Mississippi. Mrs. Hamer also details some of the sufferings of black folks in Mississippi, especially, as it pertains to potential repercussions for them registering to vote. |
People to People: Something Happening in MississippiIn this article for the New York Amsterdam News, Dr. King discusses the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a group of Negroes from Mississippi who displayed the power of nonviolence by challenging the seating of the state's all-white regular Democratic delegation at the 1964 Democratic Convention. |
Primer For Delegates to the Democratic National ConventionThe Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party informs citizens of the mistreatment incurred by African Americans attempting to register to vote and participate in election process. The Party also outlines its journey to sending 64 delegates to the Democratic Convention of 1964 and how President Johnson denied them seats at the Convention. |