Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer (born October 6, 1917 in Ruleville , Montgomery County , Mississippi , as Fannie Lou Townsend , † March 14, 1977 in Mound Bayou , Mississippi) was a black American civil rights campaigner . In the 1960s, she fought for African American voting rights and equality in the United States .
Life
Fannie Lou Hamer was the youngest of 20 siblings in a cotton picking family ; her grandfather was still a slave . In 1944 she married Perry Hamer (1912-1992) and worked as a cotton picker on a plantation in Sunflower County . In 1962, she tried to put herself on the electoral roll of Sunflower County . She lost her job, was arrested and mistreated several times and was imprisoned in Winona in 1963 . She was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and a founding member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and became its Vice-Chair. In 1969 she founded the Freedom Farm Cooperative , which gave work to black and white people in need and supported them financially. The cooperative existed until 1974.
literature
- Victor Grossman : Rebel Girls: Portraits of 34 American Women . Papyrossa, Cologne 2012, pp. 213-219
Web links
- Fannie Lou Hamer. In: FemBio. Women's biography research (with references and citations).
- Fannie Lou Hamer in the National Women's Hall of Fame
- Biography on the side of the University of Mississippi (english)
- Keisha N. Blain: Fannie Lou Hamer's Dauntless Fight for Black Americans' Right to Vote. Smithsonian Magazine , August 20, 2020.
- Fannie Lou Hamer in the database of Find a Grave (English)
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Hamer, Fannie Lou |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Townsend, Fannie Lou (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American civil rights activist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | October 6, 1917 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Ruleville , Montgomery County, Mississippi |
| DATE OF DEATH | March 14, 1977 |
| Place of death | Mound Bayou , Mississippi |