US History

Postwar United States (1945 to early 1970s)

Social Movements

Women

African Americans

This collection uses primary sources to explore Fannie Lou Hamer and the civil rights movement in rural Mississippi.

Teaching Guide: Exploring Fannie Lou Hamer and the Civil Rights Movement in Rural Mississippi

A clip of students demonstrating against the Vietnam War including a short speech by Fannie Lou Hamer, August 7, 1971.

An article from *Memphis World* reporting Hamer’s thoughts on medical care for African Americans, May 9, 1964.

An article from *Memphis World* about Hamer being refused a place on the ballot at the Democratic National Convention, October 31, 1964.

Audio clips from an interview in which Harry Belafonte reflects on Hamer’s significance and impact, January 28, 1991. 

An excerpt from a FBI file record detailing the arrest of Hamer and five others for trying to use a bus terminal bathroom, June 1963. 

A photograph of an African American cotton plantation worker in the Mississippi Delta in 1939.

A photograph of an African American at a plantation store in the Mississippi Delta in 1939. 

A photograph of a group at the county convention of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in 1964.

An article from *Memphis World* describing a mock ballot among African American voters, November 14, 1964.

An article from *Memphis World* about the Mississippi Freedom Summer and the Freedom Drive, September 5, 1964.

A photograph of African American day laborers in the Mississippi Delta in 1940.

A photograph of participants at a Freedom Summer meeting in 1964.

Resources

1. [Fannie Lou Hamer biography](http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/biography/freedomsummer-hamer/), American Experience - PBS. 
2. [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://www.nwhm.org/education-resources/biography/biographies/fannie-lou-hamer/), National Women’s History Museum.
3. [Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party](http://kingencyclopedia.stanford.edu/encyclopedia/encyclopedia/enc_mississippi_freedom_democratic_party/), King Encyclopedia, Stanford University. 

Overview

Born to sharecroppers in rural Mississippi in 1917, the youngest of twenty children, Fannie Lou Hamer knew well the realities of racism, discrimination, and poverty. She used her knowledge in grassroots activism on behalf of voters’ rights, African Americans, and civil rights. “Sick and tired of being sick and tired,” Hamer provided a voice for oppressed and disenfranchised black majorities in the Deep South in the 1960s through her strength, passion, courage, and faith. Hamer epitomized the persistent struggles and victories of the US civil rights movement. African Americans in the Mississippi Delta, activists in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic party, and participants in the Freedom Summer were all influenced by her personality and leadership. This primary source set offers readers a greater understanding of Fannie Lou Hamer. 

English

Fannie Lou Hamer and the Civil Rights Movement in Rural Mississippi

fannie-lou-hamer-civil-rights-movement-rural-mississippi_11_a4cc3d089948cf2a3970693ef8f6640e.jpg

Wolcott, Marion Post, “African American cotton plantation workers, hired as day laborers,” Digital Public Library of America, http://dp.la/item/a4cc3d089948cf2a3970693ef8f6640e. 

African American cotton plantation workers, hired as day laborers, walking next to cotton field at Hopson Plantation, Clarksdale, Mississippi Delta, Mississippi, August 1940

The New York Public Library

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Photographs and Prints Division. The New York Public Library

A photograph of African American day laborers in the Mississippi Delta in 1940.

Cite this item

Tips for Students

Item 11 of 12 in the Primary Source Set Fannie Lou Hamer and the Civil Rights Movement in Rural Mississippi