Fannie Lou Hamer: The Life of a Civil Rights Icon

by Earnest Bracey

This book explores the life of one of Mississippi's greatest civil rights activists, Fannie Lou Hamer. Known for her daring, her brinkmanship and her impassioned speech-making, Hamer rose to prominence in the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, an intrepid group which tried to unseat the predominantly white Democrats of Mississippi during the 1964 Democratic National Convention. She is particularly remembered for her speech before the Credentials Committee, seeking to end all-white representation of her home state. Hamer fought her entire life to expand freedom and basic rights to African Americans in the United States.

Genres: History

209 pages, Paperback

First published December 10, 2010

Reviews

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a well-meaning and supportive biography but I found it tough to read. As Bracey quoted other works more than giving quotes by Hamer's contemporaries, I found it hard to connect with the pivotal points of her life. The end, where he describes her death, felt sort of glib without offering any more illuminating than what had already been discussed in preceding chapters.

[Shelley Diamond · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fannie Lou Hamer is not as well known as other civil rights leaders but she should be. This book is a biography of her life. The way she was treated when she tried to register to vote, the way she was beaten in jail, and the way she was treated as a worker on a plantation are examples of the abuse suffered by people not that long ago.

My only complaint is that I wish the author had been able to include a transcript of her speech to the 1964 Democratic Convention that was cut as it was being televised, due to the intervention of President Johnson. Another example of disrespect. I believe the speech is available on You Tube.