In our 2 part series on Fannie Lou Hamer, we examine her life and accomplishments through the lens of farming and food justice.
Part 1 takes a look at Hamer’s early childhood in Mississippi including her polio diagnosis, working as a sharecropper, and her academic achievements. We set the scene for Mississippi and the U.S. from the time she was born in 1917 till the 1960s when she began her work in Civil Rights. Fannie Lou’s pre-icon years definitely had their struggles but we also include her leadership, success, and joy.
Part 2 picks up where we left off in the first episode – Hamer and a group of other Black folks trying to register to vote. We follow her as she steps into her first leadership role with SNCC and listen to part of her speech at the Democratic National Committee credential panel in 1964 that was so compelling, President Johnson interrupted it to try and silence her. Largely focusing on her work in food justice, we cover her incredible work with the Freedom Farm Cooperative and the Sunflower Pigs pig bank.
Sources for E 9 &10. Fannie Lou Hamer
Mississippi Public Broadcasting: Fannie Lou Hamer Stand Up
PBS Fannie Lou Hamer American Experience
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/fannie-lou-hamer
FLH Food Activism Pioneer in Food and Wine (by Nia-Raquelle Smith)
Butter Pecan Pod 