Words From The Wise: Fannie Lou Hamer

“You can pray until you faint. But unless you get up and try to do something, God is not going to put it in your lap.”

– Fannie Lou Hamer

When it comes to the leaders of The Civil Rights Movement, certain names get recycled to the public; some due to their popularity and others due to clear biases. Upon doing some research, I’ve come to find out that there were a lot of prominent Black women who played a major part in the advancement of African Americans. One, in particular, was Fannie Lou Hamer.

Fannie Lou Hamer was a Civil Rights Activist and Philanthropist who led voting drives and co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. She was involved with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in 1962, leading voting drives and relief efforts. In 1964, she ran for Congress as a member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, drawing national attention to the Democratic convention that year. Hamer also set up organizations to increase business opportunities for minorities and provide family services by establishing the National Woman’s Political Caucus in 1971.

I want to share a few videos of hers that describe her life and message. If you’d like to discuss any of the content from the clips, feel free to comment below.