Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer
Fannie Lou Hamer was a member of SNCC, the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and was a powerful voice in the Civil Rights Movement. Mrs. Hamer was a sharecropper, and had many stories to tell about the hardships of working peoples' lives in Mississippi. She worked together to register Black citizens to vote, was a Civil Rights Activist, and spoke at the Democratic National Convention. She had a difficult life, but worked hard to make America a better country.
Before beginning, watch this short clip and the following BrainPops about Fannie Lou Hamer and the Civil Rights Movement.
Conduct a picture walk of the book Voice of Freedom: Fannie Lou Hamer, The Spirit of The Civil Rights Movement. Below, you can explore many of the elements of history that are mentioned throughout the book.
Watch this BrainPop to learn more about Segregation, Jim Crow Laws, and Sharecropping.
Many of Fannie Lou Hamer's siblings moved North to other states in America. Many Black people from the South made this journey, which is referred to as The Great Migration.
Fannie Lou Hamer helped to register over 64,000 Black Americans to vote. Learn more about Voting Rights.
SNCC stands for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, and Fannie Lou Hamer was an important member of the organization.
In 1964, SNCC organized Freedom Summer, where college students from all over America went to Mississippi to help register Black Americans to vote.
The Democratic National Convention of 1964 was an important moment in Civil Rights History. Learn more about Fannie Lou Hamer's Role in protesting the Mississippi Delegates.
Through all of this, Fannie Lou Hamer used her powerful singing voice to unite members of the Civil Rights Movement. Listen to her sing This Little Light of Mine.