Biography about fannie lou hamer

(1917-1977)

Who Was Fannie Lou Hamer?

Born into a Mississippi sharecropping family, Fannie Lou Hamer spent much of her early life in the cotton fields.

She became involved with the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee in 1962, through which she led voting drives and relief efforts.

Biography about fannie lou hamer

In 1964, she co-founded and ran for Congress as a member of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, drawing national attention to their cause at that year's Democratic Convention. Hamer continued her activism through declining health, until her death in 1977.

Early Life

Hamer was born Fannie Lou Townsend on October 6, 1917, in Montgomery County, Mississippi, the youngest of 20 children.

Her parents were sharecroppers in the Mississippi Delta area, and Hamer began working in the fields when she was only 6 years old.

Around the age of 12, Hamer dropped out of school in order to work full time and help out her family.

She continued to work as a sharecropper after her 1944 m