Picture of Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) She was the daughter of Mississippi share croppers and spent most her life working in the fields. She, and her husband, worked at the Marlow plantation until 1962 when she was fired for registering to vote. She dedicated the rest of her life to activism. While she did not have much of a formal education, she learned to read and write through bible study and passed her literacy test later on. She was one of the founders as well as the vice chairman of the Freedom Democratic Party and spoke at the Democratic National Convention (DNC) of 1964. She was an eloquent orator and some of her quotes are still famous today – the most famous one being “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.” She was one of the organizers of the Freedom Summer and a co-founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus. She ran, unsuccessfully, for U.S Congress in 1964 and for the Mississippi State Senate in 1971. She was posthumously inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1993.
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977)
She was the daughter of Mississippi share croppers & spent most her life working in the fields until 1962 when she was fired for registering to vote. She was an eloquent orator & her most famous quote still used today – I’m sick & tired of being sick and tired.”
