Fanny Lou Hamer
| Fannie Lou Hamer | |
|---|---|
Fannie Lou Hamer at the Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, August 1964
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| Born |
Fannie Lou Townsend October 6, 1917 Montgomery County, Mississippi |
| Died | March 14, 1977 (aged 59) Mound Bayou, Mississippi |
| Burial place | Ruleville, Mississippi |
| Known for | Civil rights activist; vice-chair of Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party |
Fannie Lou Hamer (/ˈheɪmər/; born Fannie Lou Townsend; October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting rights activist, a leader in the Civil Rights Movement, and philanthropist who worked primarily in Mississippi. She was instrumental in organizing Mississippi's Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). She was the vice-chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, which she represented at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Hamer was born in 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi, to Ella and James Lee Townsend, and was the youngest of 20 children. Her family moved to Sunflower County, Mississippi in 1919 to work as sharecroppers on the plantation of W. D. Marlow. Starting at the age of six, Hamer picked cotton with her family. She attended school in a one-room schoolhouse on the plantation, from 1924 to 1930, at which time she had to drop out to help support her family. By the age of 13, Hamer could pick 200–300 pounds of cotton daily.
In 1944, after the plantation owner discovered that she was literate, Hamer was selected as the plantation's time and record keeper. In 1945 she married Perry "Pap" Hamer. They worked together on the Marlow plantation for the next 18 years. The Hamers later raised two impoverished girls, whom they decided to adopt.
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