Warlordofwoe

I am Warlordofwoe, #20

The person I am researching: **__Fannie Lou Hamer__**: sharecropper and civil rights activist. Wikipedia states, "Fannie Lou Hamer (born Fannie Lou Townsend on October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting rights activist and civil rights leader.

She was instrumental in organizing Mississippi's "Freedom Summer" for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), and later became the Vice-Chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, attending the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, in that capacity. Her plain-spoken manner and fervent belief in the Biblical righteousness of her cause gained her a reputation as an electrifying speaker and constant champion of civil rights." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fannie_Lou_Hamer

layton » Warlordofwoe

I learned about Fanny Lou Hamer from a book by Andrew Young, appropriately titled **__Fannie Lou Hamer__**. Fannie was a major civil rights activist born October 6, 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi, and died March 14, 1977 in Ruleville, Mississippi. Fannie Lou Hamer, one of //twenty// children to Jim Townsend and Lou Ella Townsend. They as sharecroppers, raising animals of their own in hopes of one day achieving financial freedom. However, a racial white man once poisoned all of their livestock/animals just to pull them farther from their dream. When Fannie grew, she worked on a cotton plantation for money. It was there Fannie met her soon-to-be husband Parry Hamer, a tractor driver working on the same plantation.

Some of Fannie's later accomplishments were the reason for her fame, though. Such as the fact that in 1962, Fannie was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, during that time she fought for black citizens' right to vote. She also helped black citizen understand their economy and politics, in order to educated them in their fight for civil rights. One of her best feats, however, was her organization of the Freedom Farms Corporation, a project in which she purchased a large amount of land that she would give sections of to poor farmers.

Of course, Fannie wasn't just an enthusiastic person who wanted rights for black citizens. She wasn't just for civil rights, she was a civil rights //activist//; and as that implies, she did not just wait around, she acted. In fact, her most prestigious work couldn't have been done without taking action. Fannie was world-renowned for founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party: a group that thought that an all-white group of political candidates was //anything// but 'all-white' (pun intended). Fannie created it based on the fact that the original Democratic Party of Mississippi strictly prohibited blacks. In 1964, Fannie was so bold as to run for a position in Congress, but she failed due to the prevailing party not allowing her name on the ballot. Fannie got more unofficial votes (outside the ballot) than her opponents, but these could not be counted toward the final choice.

Fannie Lou Hamer did some great things, but she could never have done them without a select few of her characteristics. The one word I would use to describe her is simply, "bold". That, along with her courage and determination, helped her become the great person she was. Being bold was a great quality, especially in her time, when the white governments and societies needed to realize that the blacks were just as good, if not better than them. Her characteristics were her tools; Fannie boldly let the racist white masses know that she and her black brothers and sisters (figurative) were stepping up in the world, and that it was going to help everyone in the end. With determination, she held firm on her beliefs, not afraid to speak her mind to others. Last, but certainly not least, Fannie's courage was her inner strength, allowing her to step up in the fight for civil rights and do the great things she did.

Fannie never fought alone in her struggles, either. She encouraged and inspired many, possibly hundreds, of blacks to follow her path. Not only did she do her part in the fight for civil rights, she got many others, of all ages and colors, to help. Fannie contributed to a broad field, the field of civil rights, by sharing her thoughts with others and convincing others to speak their minds as well. When she said something, she meant it, so when she said, "I'm not backing off", she didn't back off. With that bit of mental superiority, Fannie was an inspiration to blacks around the globe.

What I admire most about Fannie's life, was her activity in 1962, when her career as a civil rights activist had just begun. She was a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a pro-civil rights group partially founded by Martin Luther King himself. She was part of a project that challenged the law stating that blacks could not vote, a voter registration drive. Due to her efforts, which were literally taken as "against the law", Fannie was arrested and sentenced to prison. Later that year, a pair of white police officers blackmailed two of Fannie's black inmates, and basically forced them to beat Fannie to almost no extent. Fannie suffered permanent injuries, but even that did not weaken her hard-as-steel mental constitution. After she was release from prison, Fannie continued to fight for civil rights.

I think this book does give an honest account of Fannie and her life, as it tells, in detail, many aspects of her life that I have looked into and confirmed. The book makes it a point to express her dedication to the fight for civil rights, and does so without exaggurating or stretching the truth. For this, I commend the author, Andrew Young, on a job well done, and a book well written.