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Tayari's Blog: Honoring Fannie Lou Hamer

Posted by TayariJones on February 20, 2007 06:47 AM
Filed under Current Events

Many of us are on a single-name basis with our heroes. Remember those t-shirts from the 90's that read Martin, Malcolm, Mandela, ME. I think they were put out by Spike Lee. Anyway, I had one. I am ashamed to say that as a teenager, it never occurred to me to ask about the women in the civil rights movement. It is particularly disturbing in my case because I was reared in a household that was determined to give credit where it was due in terms of the struggles of black people all over the globe. (My older brother is named "Patrice Lumumba Jones"; you get the idea.)

The only woman I knew about when it came to Civil Rights was Rosa Parks and even her legacy had been twisted into a nice-girl version of resistance-- the tired seamstress who sat down because she was tired. Who knew of her other corageous and active protests? I was in college before I ever heard the name Fannie Lou Hamer-- thank heaven for Spelman. I can only think that for a person like me to have this disturbing absence in my understanding of the civil rights struggle, the rest of the nation (the world!) must share this historical amsesia.

This is why I am honored to announce the upcoming conference to honor the memory of Fannie Lou Hamer, which is organized by my father, Mack H. Jones. (Conference details are here.)

Scroll down for a little Q&A:

ME: Can you tell us a little bit about Fannie Lou Hamer and why she was important?
Mack Jones (AKA Daddy): In my view, Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer was one of the most significant warriors in the modern civil rights movement. Through her courage and determination she played a critical role in ending American racial apartheid. When she defied her plantation bosses by insisting on her right to register to vote she gave strength and courage to other oppressed black folk to do the same. When she challenged the racist practices of the Mississippi Democratic Party at the 1964 National convention she exposed the hypocrisy of American democracy for the whole world to see and set in motion the chain of events that eventually led to passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act and to the end of state sanctioned racial segregation and discrimination in the United States.

And on another level, by rising up from her humble station as an oppressed Black woman sharecropper on a Mississippi plantation to become an internationally known and revered human rights leader, Mrs. Hamer demonstrated the debilitating costs of racial and gender oppression. Her life should be a source of emulation for all of us, especially our youth. We are holding this conference to burnish her legacy, to remind us all of her sterling contributions to the struggle for civil and human rights both nationally and internationally.

Me: What can people do to honor Mrs. Hamer?
Daddy: Even though there are scores of institutes, programs, awards, and other activities named for Mrs. Hamer, we do not yet have a fitting living memorial that acknowledges and sustains the work of Fannie Lou Hamer. We would love to see African American people, women's organizations, anyone who values progress and justice-- come together nationally and commit to building a national institution in her honor.

Perhaps we could build a first-rate secondary boarding school for girls from the rural south, a school that would educate and train young women as leaders who would continue in the spirit of Mrs. Hamer. Such an effort could be led by our churches, sororities and fraternities, professional associations, and the like.

Me: Sounds like plan.

February 20, 2007 12:31 PM