Fannie Lou Hamer
Civil Rights Women
By Femi Lewis, About.com Guide June 30, 2013
Fanie Lou Hamer was born one of 20 children in rural Mississippi. Her parents were
sharecroppers. By the time she was 13, Hamer could pick 200 to 300 bales
of cotton per day. To many, it might seem like her life's work would be
one filled with manual labor.
But Hamer had other ideas.
In
the 1950s, she began attending civil rights meetings. By the 1960s,
Hamer stood up and volunteered to register to vote. But she was not
alone. Hamer encouraged other African-American men and women to register
as well--singing Christian hymns.
In 1964, Hamer traveled to the
national Democratic Convention with the Mississippi Freedom Democratic
Party. Their purpose: to challenge all-white delegates from the state.
Hamer's work gained national attention.
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