02/26/2026
Fannie Lou Hamer, 1917–1977, was an American voting and women's rights activist, community organizer, and leader of the civil rights movement, who believed that Black political rights could not be separated from economic justice. Hamer sacrificed her physical safety to organize and register Black voters throughout the 1960s. She was Vice-Chair of the Freedom Democratic Party when she represented them at the 1964 Democratic National Convention and became famous and oft-quoted for her response to the refusal to seat Black Mississippi delegates. In 1964, Hamer organized Mississippi's Freedom Summer, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In 1969, Hamer founded the Freedom Farm Cooperative (FFC), empowering land ownership to combat economic insecurity and food scarcity. FFC's goals included augmenting community food needs, providing decent housing, and creating a business incubator to grow Black-owned companies. In 1971, Hamer co-founded the National Women's Political Caucus, an organization created to recruit, train, and support women of all races who sought public office. In January 2025, Hamer was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Nation's highest civilian honor.
