Fannie Lou Hamer, one of the co-founders of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, was a charismatic leader of the civil rights movement, executing determination every step of the way. Throughout her time, she went from picking cotton in the fields of the Mississippi Delta to speaking at the Democratic Convention. She was born on Saturday, October 6, 1917, coming from one of the most underdeveloped, rural communities in Montgomery County, Mississippi. Her parents, Jim and Lou Ella Townsend, were sharecroppers in Sunflower County, Mississippi which led Fannie Lou to begin working in the cotton fields of E.W. Brandon’s Ruleville plantation at the age of two. Sharecroppers worked on a distinct section of the plantation. Later on, her parents …show more content…
Fannie Lou and other Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party members went to the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and strived to become recognized as the official delegation. Before Fannie Lou Hamer lectured to the Credentials Committee, President Lyndon Johnson conducted a televised press conference, just to have Mrs. Hamer's speech not displayed nationally; fortunately, her speech was televised later. (Fig. 2.) Racial discrimination was described in her speech and four years later, Hamer became a member of Mississippi’s first interracial delegation. Her image of racial equality in political delegations became …show more content…
Hamer isn’t acknowledged profoundly in grade school textbooks, her legacy from 2000 to 2016 is cherished greatly. In Washington, D.C., the African American female a cappella group named Sweet Honey in the Rock, composed a song named “Fannie Lou Hamer.” In Ruleville, Mississippi, there’s a Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden devoted to Mrs. Hamer; a statue was later placed in that memorial in October 2012. Clearly, Ruleville, Mississippi appreciates Fannie Lou tremendously. From 1970-76, Ruleville celebrated “Fannie Lou Hamer Day.” The Chairman Dances included a song on their 2016 album, Time Without Measure, about Fannie Lou Hamer. In September 2017, there’s a portrait made of Mrs. Hamer in the Albright-Knox Art
Sojourner Truth was a prominent abolitionist and women’s rights activist. Born a slave in New York State, she had at least three of her children sold away from her. After escaping slavery, Truth embraced evangelical religion and became involved in moral reform and abolitionist work. She collected supplies for black regiments during the Civil War and immersed herself in advocating for freed people during the Reconstruction period. Isabella escaped slavery in 1827, one year before mandatory emancipation in New York State, by fleeing to a Quaker family, the Van Wageners, whose name she took.
She fought hard on improving working conditions for many American Her name was Florence Kelley. Florence Kelley made her entrance in the world on September 12, 1889, to William and Caroline Kelley. She grew up learning public activity from her father. Her father was a self-educated man who left his business to become an abolitionist a judge and an activist for a number of political and social reforms.
The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was founded in 1963 to counter the Mississippi Democratic Party which only allowed participation by whites. The party was developed during the Freedom Summer Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, of which Hamer was the vice-chair. In 1964, 40 percent of the population was black, yet they were not allowed to participate in the political system (Bramlett-Solomon 1991, 515). The party registered 60, 000 black voters in the state of Mississippi and after that effort party delegates were sent to the 1964 Democratic Convention.
Imagine growing up on a cotton plantation to former slaves in Delta, becoming an “orphan at the age of 7, becoming a wife at the age of 14, a mother at 17 and a widow at 20?” This all describes the early life of Sarah Breedlove, better known as Madam C.J Walker. “She supported her family by washing laundry and she used her earning as a laundress to pay for her daughter’s education at Knoxville College” .In 1889, Madam C.J Walker moved to St. Louis in search of a better future.
Identify the distinct emotions felt by Fannie Lawrence. What situations caused these emotions? The start of the scene Fannie felt guilty hoping Otis would remember to get the kids ready for school in the morning. She felt guilty because she knew he got in late from work but she too had been feeling exhausted.
Black history month is a yearly commemoration dedicated to the accomplishments made by African Americans. As an African American female, I am persistently faced with discrimination, stereotyping and sexism. I am aware that the racism and discrimination we face today is not nearly as atrocious as what my ancestors experienced, but it is still exceedingly difficult being black in America. I give thanks to the great deal of African Americans before my time who fought for our freedom. There are countless blacks who inspire and motivate me everyday.
Gloria Marie Steinem Gloria Marie Steinem, an American feminist, journalist and social/political activist, was born March 25, 1934. The start to her “Famous” career as a feminist leader was in 1969 when she published the article “After Black Power, Women‘s Liberation.” Her first major accomplishment was the WMC (Women’s Media Center) co- founded alongside with Jane Forda and Robin Morgan. She described the organization as something that works “to move women visible and powerful in the media.” Once her career took off she co-founded the feminist themed magazine Ms. with Dorothy Pitman Hughes.
The genre of blues exploded into the blues craze during the 1920’s. During this time, white record producers saw the untapped goldmine that was blues music performed by people of color. Ma Rainey was one of them, and to some, one of the first, giving her the title, ‘The Mother of Blues’. The 1920’s was not only an era of continuing homophobia from the past (although that would change, briefly, into a mild form of acceptance until the more conservative 1930’s), but also of harsh racism. And yet, one singer, Ma Rainey’s, broke these restrictions.
She was an African- American civil rights leader who founded the National Council of Negro Women. She was a government official who had significant influence in Franklin D. Roosevelt’S New Deal Government. She was an educator who taught at Haines Institute in Augusta, Georgia in 1898 and later at the
She was invited to speak to the Convention’s Credential Committee where she spoke of her hardship of voter registration and her petrifying experience in Winona. Hamer questioned America about what they were doing for African Americans because “our lives are be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings in America?” (Lee 89). Also expressed at the convention, Hamer argued that Democratic Party should not seat people who allowed for the sterilization of women, including herself, in Mississippi. With her speech broadcasted all over America, Johnson, worried about his reelection, sent Senator and potential running mate Hubert Humphrey down to Mississippi to negotiate with the MFDP about two non-voting seats.
Florence Kelley was a famous Progressive-Era social reformer known for her protective legislation on working women and children. From a young age, she committed herself to social reform like at Hull House in Chicago and also as the first general secretary of the National Consumers League. She later helped start National Association for the Advancement of Colored People(NAACP) who policy was “to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to eliminate racial hatred and racial discrimination.” The famous case of Muller V. Oregon showed Florence’s conquest to establish labor laws against working long hours and bad working conditions. This case paved a way into new ideas and eventually created the labor unions we have today Florence’s father, Congressman William Kelley, was a social activist who fought for the poor.
In 1971, Alvin Ailey choreographed Cry, a three part work solo dance set to gospel music that describes an emotional journey filled with struggle, hardships, defeat, survival and joy. It was intended as a birthday present to Alvin’s mother and a dedication to all black women everywhere. The first part of the dance is the struggle of trying to maintain pride irrespective of the opposition faced from outside. The second part reveals the sorrow within after the woman’s pride has been shattered into pieces and finally the third part is a spirited celebration of finding strength and joy in God. Even though cry was dedicated to only black women, i argue the notion that all women both black and white of the nineteenth century could relate
Eleanor Roosevelt would describe herself and her husband President Franklin Delano Roosevelt; “ I’m the agitator, he’s the politician.” Sometimes while traveling and observing the country and world, she would come home with an observation that he disagreed with and would not support politically. The Civil Rights legislation was one issue that stirred contention between Eleanor and Franklin Delano Roosevelt.
Billie Holiday is one of the most influential jazz singers of her time. Her attitude, determination and most of all her music inspired artists throughout time and inspired major social change. Throughout her lifetime she explored the world of jazz, her identity, and how far the limits of her talent would take her. She exchanged her poor life, full of drugs and scandal for a life of performing the arts and showcasing her talents and abilities. Her incredible determination led her to do what she loved regardless of what anyone thought , which led to her inciting major social exchange; moving black suffering into white consciousness.
Anne Moody was an african american girl born in Centreville Mississippi. Moody was the oldest of eight children in her family, this gave her a lot of responsibilities as she was growing up. She had to get a job at a very young age in order to provide a source of income for her single mother who had split up with her father. Despite all that she faced as she was growing up, Moody was a straight A student in school. She was a very bright young girl that always wanted to know a lot more about the things happening around her.