Fannie lou hamer: accomplishments and life
Fannie Lou Hamer was an African American woman from Mississippi. She was born in 1917 and she died in 1977. She did not have much education and worked on a plantation. Despite her economic and educational disparities, Hamer was a very powerful presence and orator during the civil rights movement. Hamer breaks the stereotypical bounds of women being weak and unable to be strong leaders. She broke boundaries out of the roles that women were supposed to occupy. Similar to Emma Gaines she was a leader of civil rights organizations. Both ladies led through social change and impacted the role of women, and both addressed societal issues in the black community. Although Hamer was a presence she is not a name that is generally associated with the freedom movement. Hamer had connections with the SNCC. She was a very influential individual who does not receive the credit that she deserves. Hamer gives black woman a representation of what determination and strength can bring.
- Gave live testimony to the 1964 Democratic convention. Able to win national support for the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) to challenge the regulars in the Mississippi official party. An all white party.
- Ran for the House of Representatives. Unfortunately lost
- Her bid for Representatives paved the way for the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
- Set up Non Profit Freedom Farms Corporation in an attempt to eradicate poverty.