(This was completed for Rebel History, clause 6.)
Fannie Lou Hamer was born on October 6, 1917. She tried to register to vote for the first time at the age of 45. She was told that she would have to pass a literacy test in order to vote. She failed the test, which was really a civics exam about the Mississippi state constitution. (How many of us could pass a test about our state constitution today? I know I would flat out fail.. I didn't even grow up in the state in which I currently reside.) White people who were given a literacy test in order to vote were given much easier questions. Mrs. Hamer attended school from the ages of 7 to 12. While she excelled at spelling and poetry, she was never taught about the Mississippi state constitution, despite living there.
Why did she wait to register to vote until she was 45?
Until then, she didn't know that black people could vote.
Later that year, she again tried to register to vote and was, again, unsuccessful. When her boss found out that she had tried to vote, she lost her job. Because she and her husband were sharecroppers, this meant they also lost their home.
Mrs. Hamer loved children. She and her husband, Pap, tried to have children but were unable to do so. In the 1950s, they adopted two little girls whose families were unable to care for them.
In 1961, Mrs. Hamer had an operation to remove a tunor. During the operation, the doctor also removed her reproductive organs without her knowledge or consent. Mississippi was among the many state with sterilization laws. Usually aimed at those deemed "mentally deficient" or insane, the law also served as the justification to sterilize many poor women of color. (Look up the phrase "Mississippi Appendectomy" to learn more.)
Eventually, Fannie Lou Hamer was hired by SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee) to be a field organizer - encouraging people to vote and also to learn about their rights. On the way home from a training program, Mrs. Hamer was arrested for trying to eat at a rest stop. (The US Supreme Court had ruled segregated rest stops to be illegal, but the employees at this rest stop still refused to serve Hamer and her colleagues.) She was take to jail and beaten severely, causing injuries that were problematic for the rest of her life. After her eventual release, Hamer was more determined than ever to fight for her rights.
In 1964, Mrs. Hamer ran for Congress. The very first vote she ever cast was for herself. Although she did not win the election, she garnered national attention, speaking at the Democratic National Convention that hear. Her recorded speech was televised after a live speech from President Lyndon Johnson.
Mrs. Hamer died in 1977 at the age of 59. In her brief time on earth, she made a large impact. She stood up for herself, for her rights, and for her beliefs. I think of people like Fannie Lou Hamer when I vote - people willing to risk everything for a right so many of us take so for granted we don't even exercise it.
I was also supposed to present the negative views of my modern day rebel but I think that the only negative options of Mrs. Hamer would be coming from a place that is either racist, sexist, or both. I am sad that Mrs. Hamer had to fight so hard for rights that should have been hers anyway.
For more information about Fannie Lou Hamer, I highly recommend Voice of Freedom Fannie Lou Hamer: Spirit of the Civil Rights Movement by Carole Boston Weatherford and illustrated by Ekua Holmes.
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