#blackmommyactivist

Civil rights crusader Fannie Lou Hamer represents the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Methodist Church Ministries/Kenneth Thompson, online here.

“NOBODY’S FREE UNTIL EVERYBODY’S FREE.”

In honor of Women’s History Month (March) and Black History Month (Feb), we continue our celebration of Black women with this special virtual Kennedy Library Forum on March 16 at 7 pm ET. Registerhereto watch live or later.

Kate Clifford Larson, visiting scholar at the Brandeis Women’s Studies Research Center, will discuss her new book with Karsonya (Kaye) Wise Whitehead, professor of communication and African and African American studies at Loyola University Maryland.

Walk with Me: A Biography of Fannie Lou Hamerdraws on new interviews and fresh archival material to explore Hamer’s life and impact on the civil rights movement. Kennedy Library education and public programs on civil rights and social justice are supported in part by AT&T.

Archives specialist Netisha Currie wrote about Hamer for the National Archives Say It Loud! Employee Affinity Group’s Rediscovering Black Historyblog’sBlack History Basic Training series.Currie shared Hamer’s incredible history that included African American voter registration, organizing Freedom Summer, co-founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and helping to establish the National Women’s Political Caucus in 1971.

Governor Bill Clinton’s “Vision for America” speech at the Democratic National Committee (DNC), 7/16/1992, Clinton Library, NARA ID 18557458.

FOR KIDS AND EDUCATORS:

• DocsTeach: Fannie Lou Hamer and Voting Rights: Students will analyze a portion of Hamer’s testimony at the 1964 Democratic National Convention about registering to vote in Mississippi in 1962. They will answer questions to understand the specific challenges Black Americans faced, and the motivations behind the Civil Rights Movement.
• Meet Fannie Lou Hamer:National Archives Comes Alive! Young Learners Program. Online here.Hamer (as portrayed by Sheila Arnold) shared her story from her birth as the 20th child of parents who were tenant farmers in Mississippi to her efforts to organize the Mississippi Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and more.