Heros in the Civil Rights - William Fremd High School

Information on Fannie Lou Hamer
Student Handout •
Fannie Lou Townsend Hamer, the
granddaughter of a slave, was a passionate
crusader against poverty and racism
during the civil rights movement. Born in
1917 in Ruleville, Mississippi, to a family
of sharecroppers, Hamer was youngest of
20 children. Her hardworking father saved
money to raise the family's standard of
living, only to lose it when a jealous white
neighbor poisoned the family's mules and
cows. Hamer worked daily in the fields
with her family, attending school for only
six years. In her forties, she married, and
discovered she could not bear children of
her own. Upset, she learned she had been involuntarily sterilized during an operation by a
white Southern doctor-similar to hundreds of operations that were performed on other poor
black women-that was supposedly to remove a tumor. She and her husband raised two
foster daughters.
• Where did Fannie Lou Hamer grow up?
• What acts of discrimination did she and her family face?
Despite the difficulties she faced, Hamer held a firm faith in God and a determination to
assist others and help bring an end to racial discrimination. She became active in politics,
and was one of the first blacks in Ruleville to register to vote (harassment, beatings, and
special tests discouraged blacks from registering). Hamer then helped others pass registration
tests and eventually became a full-time fieldworker in the civil rights movement. As a result
of her activism, the plantation owner on whose farm she lived evicted her and her family in
1962. Still, Hamer was undeterred. She went on to run for congressional office and helped to
register over 63,000 African Americans to vote. She was also instrumental in founding the
biracial Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) in 1964, which presented a
legitimate challenge and alternative to the white-controlled Democratic Party in Mississippi.
In addition to her political efforts, Hamer worked to improve her community. She helped get
federal support for early childhood education, started a Freedom Farm Cooperative to
improve profits for sharecropping farmers, raised money for low-cost housing, and brought
jobs to Ruleville by helping bring in a garment factory.
• How did Hamer become involved in the civil rights movement?
• What were her key political successes?
• In what other ways did she help her community?
© Teachers' Curriculum Institute USH-12-5, Activity 2.3, Page 13