The activism of Fannie Lou Hamer: a timeline

Fannie Lou Hamer was a galvanizing force of the Civil Rights movement, using her voice to advance voting rights and representation for Black Americans throughout the 1960s and 1970s. Faced with eviction, arrests, and abuse at the hands of white doctors, policemen, and others, Hamer stayed true to her faith and her conviction in non-violent progress. She helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, ran for Congress, and was one of the first three Black women in American history to be seated on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. Hamer dedicated herself fully as a grassroots organizer of the Civil Rights movement, inspiring countless activists and pushing progress forward. This is her story. 

17 September 1965. Women making history

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Fannie Lou Hamer, Victoria Gray, and Annie Devine challenged the seating of Mississippi’s Congressmen in Washington because their election, the women argued, was fraudulent. House Speaker John McCormack of Massachusetts brought their challenge to the House floor for a vote. He invited the three women as honored guests to watch the vote. Though they lost the vote, they became the first Black women in American history to be seated on the floor of the United States House of Representatives. Image: Victoria Jackson Gray Adams, Fannie Lou Hamer, and Annie Bell Robinson Devine in Washington DC in 1965 for the Mississippi Congressional Challenge.

Images are from Walk with Me, except where otherwise noted and linked.