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In 1999, Chana Kai Lee wrote a biography, “For Freedom’s Sake: The Life of Fannie Lou Hamer,” to instill in her readers the life and torments African American’s had during the Civil Rights movement. Fannie Lou Hamer (born Townsend) was the last of twenty to two sharecroppers in Montgomery County, Mississippi, and after growing up working the fields in rural poverty, Fannie Lou married Perry Hamer in 1944. In 1962, she had a life-changing experience when she attempted to register to vote for the first time. Hamer, from then on, consumed herself in Civil Rights in every aspect even if she put herself in harm’s way. Fannie Lou Hamer’s first encounter with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) was, in 1962, when they came to Ruleville,
Fannie Lou Hammer: Civil Rights Activist Born on October 6, 1917, the youngest of twenty children, daughter of two sharecroppers and the wife of Perry Hamer. A woman by the name of Fannie Lou Hamer was one of the history's wells- known, well-respected activist and philanthropist. March 3, 1977, was the day that the great Mrs. Hamer passed away due to cancer. She had been in and out of the hospital for a great part of her life, but this did not stop her from devoting her life to change. A close friend and colleague Andrew Young, a United States delegate to the United Nations, held Mrs. Hamer's funeral.
Hamer was an informal bridge leader for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. When activists Annelle Ponder and Septima Clark came to Mississippi to teach people about voting registration, Hamer’s attention was sparked. A few weeks later, Hamer and a few other citizen of Mississippi set off to Charleston, South Carolina to share what they learned. They planned on teaching classes on voter registration. The group consisted of John Brown, Bernard Washington, Euvester Simpson, June Johnson, Rosemary Freeman, James West, Annelle Ponder, and Hamer herself.
Through actively working together and maintaining preservation amongst the community, these activist are able to make important political statements justifying equality amongst blacks through categorizing treatments received as inhumane (Lewis 108) and religiously contradicting (Lewis
The Civil Rights Movement was a big part of U.S. history in the Early and mid 1900’s. Many famous leaders like Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Rosa Parks were heard throughout the country changing people’s opinions on blacks. Though, they weren’t the only ones who protested, Frank Bates was one of the many young protesters. He had to deal with the police, whites, and other people who bullied blacks. Frank Bates had gone through many struggles to achieve his goal.
During a crowded afternoon bus ride, "I decided I wasn't gonna take it anymore… After the other students got up, there were three empty seats in my row, but that white woman still wouldn't sit down-not even across the aisle from me…blacks had to be behind whites… 'Why are you still sittin' there?'"(Hoose 32). Initiating the Civil Rights Movement, Claudette Colvin refused to stand for a white lady when there was an empty row next to her. Claudette's bravery sparked a fire within the black community, & they attempted to keep her name in the papers. Through the short bout of fame, “The news that a schoolgirl had been arrested for refusing to surrender her bus seat to a white passenger flashed through Montgomery’s black community and traveled far beyond,”(Hoose 39).
Even though I think that it was unfair for Linda to be put in this position at such a young age as an adult Linda choose to take up the fight. I am glad that Linda Brown was happy with her role in the civil Rights movement and that as an adult she chose to be an
There were many sources of conflict within the civil rights movement including Issues with John Lewis’s speech for the March on Washington as well as John Lewis and The Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee or SNCC. Even though there were some conflict great things were still achieved. John Lewis began writing his speech for the March on Washington with the help of SNCC staffer Nancy Stern, communications director Julian Bond as well as Jim Forman and Prathia Hall. He later received a call from Bayard Rustin who said “some people are very concerned about some of the things you’re going to say in your speech” (Lewis and Aydin 2;156). Rustin was concerned because John Lewis used the word Patience in his speech which he said is a “dirty and nasty word”.
It was at this convention that they challenged the all-white presence and delegation at the Convention. In 1964 at the Democratic National Convention Hamer shared her testimony of the violence she had experienced in her life in Mississippi. It was here that Hamer took the podium after blacks demanded to be seated at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. It was here that we heard Hamer deliver her most famous quote “I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” (DeMuth 2009, 2). It was during this speech that Hamer shared her testimony and recalled her past experiences - including her experience in that Winona jail, a story she had no problem sharing.
In 1884, Ida brought a first-class train ticket from Memphis to Nashville. However, she wasn’t able to ride in first class because crewmembers forcibly removed her from the train when she refused to move to the car for African Americans. Ida sued the railroad and won a $500 settlement in a circuit court case, however, the decisions was overturned by the Tennessee Supreme Court. Ida was ordered to pay court costs. After this incident Ida believed it was time to speak out and encourage people to fight for what was right.
Mary Mcleod Bethune’s life began in the same circumstances as many colored people during The Era Of Reconstruction. Bethune’s family was no exception to the entrapment that the withholding of civil rights caused. Bethune’s early realization that literacy could be used as a tool to potentially break and end the vicious cycle of degradation that occurred vapidly in her time would result in the founding of an amazing learning institute and years of service towards the cause of civil rights, her message of working for one’s self and compassion is still as powerful today as it was nearly a hundred years ago. Bethune was the only member in her family to attend school, a luxury for a child with sixteen other siblings. Bethune’s simple but poignant
Ironically, southern resistance actually helped the civil rights movement by publicizing the hardship African Americans faced as TV news crews eagerly covered and spread the story. As more people began to see these hardships, they, especially the younger generation, began to sympathize with the movement. The Port Huron statement, for example, exhibits the growing sentiment among young people that something is wrong.(Doc 20.2) In their statement, the students for a democratic society question how we can declare “all men are created equal” when we treat African Americans so badly. Soon after this statement was printed, another landmark of the movement took place: Martin Luther king jr.’s
Perhaps it takes courage to raise children”. This quiet bravery led her through her life as a mother, her career as a teacher, her service to her community, and her mission to protect her country by selling Liberty Bonds during World War II. Every one of these actions is also evidence of
“We become what we are only by the radical and profound rejection of what others have said about us,” ( Sarte 894). One Friday morning Nancy Lee gained a new passion to fight injustice. We all have hurtles we have to jump over to achieve our American dream, Nancy has to face injustice based on the color of her skin. She is treated like every one else by her classmates and teachers, then bam, she is reminded that her skin is darker than her light skinned classmates. Our culture is very important to our identities and as we go through our lives we reflect on our experiences and what we have been taught.
As an unabashed campaigner for reform, and the courageous voice for those oppressed by authorities, free speech wilfully bore the assaults from those in power who wished to silence him. But in the face of adversity he thrived, and consequently, so did humanity. He was the mentor of history’s most impactful activists, giving them the artillery to convey their ideas and tackle injustice in its most violent forms. He sat alongside Rosa Parks on the bus when she famously spoke up against racial segregation, refusing to give up her seat for a white man.
