Political Change
Modern U.S. History Period

Medgar Evers / Fannie Lou Hamer

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Fannie Lou Hamer was born in the Mississippi River Delta region. She was the granddaughter of a slave and the youngest of 20 children. Her parents were sharecroppers, farmers who give up a share of their crop to pay their rent. She became an organizer for civil rights groups in southern Mississippi. Hamer went door-to-door throughout the region to register people to vote, often using gospel songs and language that everyone could understand to get her message across. Her talent as a speaker and her dedication to equal rights helped Hamer develop into one the most important regional leaders of the Civil Rights movement.

Fannie Lou Hamer at the Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, August 1964

Her success in rural Mississippi eventually led her to become a leader in SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), one of the nation’s largest civil rights groups in the early 1960s. Despite having her life threatened, being fired from her job, and nearly dying from being beaten by white police officers in prison, she remained dedicated to the cause of civil rights throughout her life.

Mahalia Jackson at the May 17, 1957, Prayer Pilgrimage of Freedom in Washington, D.C.

Music played an important role in the Civil Rights Movement. Although many African-Americans in the South had not been given the opportunity to receive a fair and equal education, all could listen to and sing popular songs, which they turned into songs of protest to unite people behind their cause. Gospel music was the most common form of these protest songs. Seen here is gospel singer Mahalia Jackson.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s favorite protest song, one which she often sang herself during protests, was “This Little Light of Mine,” a song of hope and defiance.
Aaron Henry, chair of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party delegation, speaks before the Credentials Committee at the Democratic National Convention, Atlantic City, New Jersey, August 1964

Hamer made national news as the Vice-Chairperson of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a political group trying to draw attention to voting discrimination at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Her group challenged the all-white Mississippi Democratic Party, saying it didn’t fairly represent all the people of the state since most black people hadn’t been allowed to vote. She spoke on national television of the struggle for civil rights in Mississippi , and her group was given the right to participate in the Convention. In addition, the national Democratic Party ruled that in the future, if a state illegally denied anyone the right to vote, its delegation would not be allowed to participate in the Convention.

"Leesburg, Georgia. Arrested for demonstrating in Americus, teenage girls. . .," no. 10

During the Civil Rights Movement, people who protested peacefully were often arrested for doing so. In this instance, a group of teenage girls was put in prison for demonstrating for equal rights. “Children’s Marches ” took place throughout the South and became important symbols for the national Civil Rights movement in the 1960s.