Primary Sources: People - Civil Rights in America: Hamer, Fannie Lou

"Born to sharecroppers in rural Mississippi in 1917, the youngest of twenty children, Fannie Lou Hamer knew well the realities of racism, discrimination, and poverty. She used her knowledge in grassroots activism on behalf of voters’ rights, African Americans, and civil rights. “Sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Hamer provided a voice for oppressed and disenfranchised black majorities in the Deep South in the 1960s through her strength, passion, courage, and faith. Hamer epitomized the persistent struggles and victories of the US civil rights movement. African Americans in the Mississippi Delta, activists in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic party, and participants in the Freedom Summer were all influenced by her personality and leadership. This primary source set offers readers a greater understanding of Fannie Lou Hamer."

"Fannie Lou Hamer explains her ordeal when she tried to register to vote in Mississippi. The date of the interview is uncertain, but we believe it happened before her testimony at the Democratic National Convention in August of 1964, which shook the nation. She was interviewed by Eleanor Sandra Fischer"

"Oral history.; Two interviews conducted on April 14, 1972 and January 25, 1973 with Mississippi civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977). Hamer was a leading figure in the MFDP. She is best known for her 1964 national television appearance in which she described the plight of black voters in Mississippi."

"Collected Speeches of Fannie Lou Hamer"

produced by Mark Puryear; performed by Fannie Lou Hamer, 1918-1977 (Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, 2015), 48 mins, 17 page(s)

"Fannie Lou Hamer, the last of 20 children and a Mississippi tenant farmer, leapt to national prominence during the 1964 Democratic National Convention, when she eloquently challenged Mississippi’s segregated Democratic primary on national television. In 1962, she had become a leader of the African-American voting rights movement in Mississippi that culminated in 1964’s Freedom Summer. Forced off her land when her landlord demanded that she take her name off the voter registration list, Hamer was repeatedly jailed and beaten during her voting rights activities. “The only thing they could do to me was kill me,” Hamer said, “and it seemed like they’d been trying to do that a little bit at a time ever since I could remember.”"