Fannie Lou Hamer

Hello, my name is Fannie Lou Hamer, and I want to tell you my story. I was born on October 6th, 1917, in Montgomery County, Mississippi. Life was not easy. I was the youngest of twenty children, and my parents were sharecroppers. That’s a word for people who farm land that someone else owns. In return for a place to live, we worked very hard in the fields, but we earned very little money for our family. I remember the hot sun and the long rows of cotton plants. I began picking cotton right alongside my family when I was only six years old. Even though our days were filled with hard work, our home was filled with love and music. We would sing together, and our songs gave us strength and hope for a better future.

As I grew up, I saw things that were deeply unfair. Because I was Black, I was not allowed to go to the same schools or drink from the same water fountains as white people. This was called segregation, and it was wrong. For a long time, I didn't know what to do about it. Then, in the summer of 1962, a big change happened in my life. I went to a meeting held by a group called the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC. They talked about how every American citizen had the right to vote to choose their leaders. Something inside me clicked. I knew I had to be a part of this. On August 31st, 1962, I went with seventeen other brave people to register to vote. It was a scary thing to do. The owner of the plantation where I had worked for eighteen years found out. He told me that if I didn't take my name off the registration list, I would have to leave. I looked at him and said, 'I didn't go down there to register for you. I went down there to register for myself.' That very night, I had to leave the only home I had ever known.

Losing my home did not stop me; it made me fight harder. I began working as an organizer for SNCC, traveling around to help other Black people learn about their right to vote and find the courage to register. It was dangerous work. In 1963, I was arrested with other activists and taken to jail, where I was badly hurt. But even that could not silence me. It only made my voice stronger and my spirit more determined. The next year, in 1964, I helped start a new political party called the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, or MFDP. Our goal was to challenge the all-white group that was representing our state. That summer, we traveled to the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City. I was given the chance to speak on television, and I told the whole country about the struggles we faced just trying to vote. I told them about the injustices and the dangers, and I ended my speech by saying a phrase that many people remember: 'I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.'

My speech opened the eyes of people all across America. Many had no idea how difficult and dangerous it was for Black people to vote in Mississippi. Hearing my story helped them understand the injustice we were fighting against. All of our hard work started to make a real difference. In 1965, the United States government passed the Voting Rights Act. This was a very important law that helped protect the right of all citizens, no matter the color of their skin, to vote. My work didn't stop there. I knew that having the right to vote was just one part of the fight for a better life. Back home in Mississippi, I started the Freedom Farm Cooperative to help poor families, both Black and white, have a place to grow their own food and build their own homes. I wanted everyone in my community to have a chance at a good life.

I lived to be 59 years old, and my life was filled with many challenges. When I passed away in 1977, I was proud that I had used my voice to speak up for what was right. People remember me today as a sharecropper's daughter who was brave enough to stand up for freedom and justice, even when it was scary and dangerous. My story shows that it doesn't matter where you come from or how little you have. Any person has the power within them to help change the world for the better.