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Joshua ParkStephanie Sparling WilliamsBlack Social Movements21 October 2013Essay 1

Fannie Lou Hamer

As famously stated by the impactful activist, “nobody’s free until everybody’s

free.” Fannie Lou Hamer, established as one of the leaders of the Civil Rights Movement

and the American Voting Rights Movement, utilized her gifts of speaking to fight racial

injustices and segregation. Born on October 6, 1917 in Montgomery County, Mississippi,

Fannie Lou Hamer flourished as she worked laboriously worked out on the fields even as

a young child. She possessed the motivation to battle for civil rights at an early age—she

registered to vote with 17 other blacks, which actuated conflicts on their venture to their

goal. Her pre-mature actions as a young teen resulted in her dedication to whole-

heartedly serve her community and fight for civil rights. Fannie Lou Hamer garnered

involvement in different civil rights organizations/political parties, such as SNCC and

MFDP. Although some similarities are evident, the goals, strategies, and obstacles that

were presented to Fannie Lou Hamer differed from other organizations: SCLS and

MFDP. Specific examples of class, gender, and race rendered the development and

fulfillment of programs and leadership of southern Civil Rights Movements. Rodney

King, beat by Los Angeles police officers, and those partaking in the Civil Unrest of

1922 gained knowledge from Fannie Lou Hamer’s experiences, as well as many other

activists today. Fannie Lou Hamer’s life and her passion to make the world a better place

positively infected the racial realm of this country.

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Fannie Lou Hamer generated and facilitated a grandiose amount of time with the

SNCC organization, also known as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. In

August 1962, at the age of 44, Fannie Lou Hamer bravely took a risk by venturing

towards civil rights; for the first time in her life, she endeavored to successfully be apart

of the voting process (Lee 23). The primary and critical focus of the SNCC organization

was centered voter-registration drives. The organization has a basis and foundation in

non-violence; the members truly affirm their faith in non-violence, and the future impacts

that it will produce (Marabel, Mullings 371). The SNCC organization presented specific

missions for Fannie Lou Hamer to fulfill: she was called to setup and empower the

leadership body and constitute and analyze smaller goals towards civil rights.

Specifically, Fannie Lou Hamer was placed in emphasis to further the development of

voter registration (Lee 43). Other topical goals for the SNCC organization were the

support of black power and direct action protests against segregation.

Strategies of variation were put into play for the SNCC organization. The

members utilized litigations, boycotts, and sit-ins; more specifically, they participated in

freedom rides, segregated lunch counter protests, and voter registration drives. The

SNCC organization focused a sufficient but enduring amount of energy on the voter

registration drives. This crucial event actuated more blacks to register to become a voter,

even at the risk of losing their jobs on the plantations. Although the significances pushes

and advancements made by the organization, continual trials and conflicts were presented

to Fannie Lou Hamer and the SNCC organization. Because many of the events and

strategies were hands on and in public locations, the possibility of conflicts with white

officials exponentially grew. Sit-ins, in public and populated places, ultimately

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influenced white citizens to be involved in a negative way. Arguments and fights led to

chaos and physical abuse to the members of the SNCC organization that took action in

these specific sit-ins. Fannie Lou Hamer also faced many trials head to head. By the time

of arrival, she was mobbed by a group of white citizens that did not affirm with blacks

possessing the right to vote. Many blacks participants in voter registrations drives were

fired from their jobs on the plantations, because of their absence on the field (Lee 34).

Difficulties and struggles were implemented into the venturing towards civil rights for the

SNCC organization—Fannie Lou Hamer.

Along with the SNCC organization, Fannie Lou Hamer placed major emphasis in

the Mississippi Freedom Democratic party, also known as the MFDP organization. The

forming of the MFDP organization occurred on April 26, 1964; hundreds of

Mississippians that did not have the ability to vote gathered and pursued to constitute a

important change. One of their primary goals was to influence the government to be more

inclusive; they wanted black delegates to join with the white delegates. The MFDP

organization pursued for equal racial representation (Lee 88). Fannie Lou Hamer’s

position in the MFDP organization was very similar to her role for the SNCC

organization. She now had to travel further beyond the South and to new locations. Her

promising role with the MFDP organization allowed her life to be publicized more and

gain popularity, not just in one location. Their main applicable strategy implemented the

use of Fannie Lou Hamer and her effect of the community. She utilized her public

likability and motivated the people to attain increased activity in fighting for civil rights

and racial equality. This actuated more citizens to partake in sit-ins and attend voter

registration drives. Some struggles that they faced included: the inability to attend

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Democratic Party meetings, many whites responded with violence and disagreements,

and the compromise that only allowed two seats for the black people in Mississippi.

Fannie Lou Hamer denied the compromise and continued to fight for equal

representation.

Martin Luther King Jr. established the Southern Christian Leadership Conference,

also known as the SCLC organization, in 1957. The leadership of Martin Luther King Jr.

provided hope in the eyes of black citizens. The main goals and missions for the SCLC

organization consisted of achieving full citizenship rights, racial equality, and the

addiction of blacks into American Life (Marabel, Mullings 345). They also empowered

large emphasis on nonviolent protest to create awareness and securing the right of the

ballot for all citizens. Most of their strategic plans involved non-violent actions and also

boycotts. They faced the struggle of challenging Jim Crow in the southern areas.

Similarly, compared to the SNCC organization, both focus on the philosophy of non-

violence, which is very crucial for both sides. The most evident similarity between the

two organizations is their push to gain equal voting rights; they both emphasize the

presence of voter registration drives. Their non-violent philosophies and primary energy

on voting rights presented their alikeness. Although many parallels are presented, the

SNCC organization possessed more extreme and forceful protests, while the SCLC

organization maintained a more peaceful strategic way to fight for civil rights.

Founded on February 12, 1909, the National Association for the Advancement of

Colored People, also known as the NAACP organization, was a prominent civil rights

group. The mission of the organization is to fight for social, political, educational rights

for the people and to destroy any racial discrimination. The main strategy of the NAACP

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organization is to establish victory by fighting legal conflicts to grasp social justice for

black people. Some struggles are the inability to move at a fast pace and the location, in

the courtroom, for the trials, which caused people to lose interest in this organization. The

prominent leaders constituted of Ida B. Wells and W.E.B. Du Bois. The slow process of

change differed from the fast pace and the fieldwork of the SNCC organization. Although

the MFDP organization focused more on the voting aspect of equality, their philosophical

goal of fighting for civil rights and desegregation held the common ground between the

two organizations.

Gender, class, and race have had a large impact in the shaping and molding of the

programs and leadership of the southern Civil Rights Movement. Women were beaten

more harshly and sexually assaulted by police officers. This caused groups like the SNCC

organization to take a stand and promote feminism. This shaped the leadership of SNCC

because Fannie Lou Hamer had a heart and passion for feminism; she helped with the

finding of the National Women’s Political Caucus. Fannie Lou Hamer’s position on

feminism allowed the SNCC organization to focus on it as well. Class was used

effectively by the different Civil Rights organizations. Because most of the blacks in the

southern were poor, certain organizations would gather large groups of them, with like

clothing and food drives, and then promotes and advocates the importance of racial

equality or voter registration. This benefited the leaders by generating responses using the

social class of the people. Race, most obviously, garnered the most impact on programs

and leadership. All of the Civil Rights organizations have one thing in common: they are

striving to end racial discrimination and promote racial equality.

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The life of Fannie Lou Hamer is an inspiration to students, but more specifically

for the current activists. Her desire and heart to generate changes, especially at an early

age, can help motivate activists to continue to work sparingly and for their true purpose.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s life consisted of many different organizations; other activists can be

inspired and be more active with the community and by joining other groups and

organizations. Rodney King and others participating in the Civil Unrest of 1992 have

great amounts to learn from Hamer’s experiences. Although they were treated unfairly

and were abused, Fannie Lou Hamer’s enduring life experiences can establish a

stronghold in their lives; they should continue to fight for their rights. Hamer’s

experiences have shown to people that hard work and strong desires can alter the course

of time.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s involvement, in SNCC and MFDP, has impacted and

generated sound results, goals, strategies, and struggles that are in variation to SCLC and

NAACP. Although their basis comes from abolishing racial inequality, the major

purposes of the organizations are different and the approaches to fight for civil rights are

dissimilar. Race, gender, and class establish support and positive effects for the Civil

Rights organizations. Fannie Lou Hamer’s life and her experiences has molded and

inspired many activists and normal citizens around the country. As famously stated by the

impactful activist, “nobody’s free until everybody’s free.”

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Works Cited

Lee, Chana Kai. For freedom's sake: the life of Fannie Lou Hamer. Urbana: University of

Illinois Press, 1999. Print.

Marable, Manning, and Leith Mullings. Let nobody turn us around: voices of resistance,

reform, and renewal : an African American anthology. Lanham: Rowman &

Littlefield, 2000. Print.