Celebrating Fannie Lou Hamer
As we celebrate and commemorate Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer's birthday this month on October 6th, please take a few minutes to view Mrs. Hamer's testimony at the 1964 Democratic Credentials Committee. Listen to how strong, clear, and powerful she was, fully knowing the risks.
I think about the risks she took—being displaced, having the home where she was staying shot into 17 times, and the brutal beating she endured after returning from a voter registration drive. I think about all the indignities she and so many others endured simply to live as human beings, and the deep courage, commitment, and love for our people that she displayed. Throughout our history in the Americas, hundreds of millions of Black people have risked everything to be treated with basic human dignity. We have had racist and fascist national leaders many times before, but rarely at the same time in one person like Donald Trump.
Today, Black people remain under attack socially, politically, and economically, as white supremacy continues to dominate public policy amd seeks to erase us. I have begun to ask myself what I have risked, and whether I could have done what Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer did. Have I become too comfortable with the status quo of white supremacy, institutional racism, individual bigotry, and mass denial? Have I assumed that this is simply the next generation's fight?
While I have contributed to Black organizations doing good work with and for our people, I ask myself: Have I reached out to others to encourage and support actions? Have I written to elected officials to support or oppose policies that impact our community? Have I attended a community meeting, march, or rally to express my outrage, or responded to the white supremacy I see on social media? These are simple, doable activities that require only a bit of time, energy, and effort—some of which can be done right from home.
Having lived through the 1960s and 70s, I witnessed firsthand how Black people had to make survival decisions to risk their lives and keep their jobs amid terrorism and intimidation. Today, I ask myself: What would a sharecropper’s daughter like Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer do?
I have decided to be more intentional—to show up, to support more, and to give more. Having been arrested over nine times in this fight, I will likely be arrested again. Many of us have made that decision. Think about what could happen if thousands more of us made a similar decision.
Like Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, I remain fully committed to the struggle for human rights and social justice, as I have been for the past fifty-five years. I ask you now to find the Fannie Lou Hamer in you—Dr. Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Ella Baker, Marcus Garvey, Harriet Tubman, Nat Turner, Sojourner Truth, the Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Septima Clark, Shirley Chisholm, and the millions of unnamed ancestors who fought for our liberation. Find them in you. I am asking you to do what you can, when you can, while you can. Stand up, get involved, and take action. When we fight we win!
In solidarity,
Baba Akili, Fannie Lou Hamer Institute