[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 158 (Tuesday, October 3, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1317-E1318]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             FANNIE LOU HAMER--NEVERTHELESS, SHE PERSISTED

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 3, 2017

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, today I rise in honor of an 
American hero, Fannie Lou Hamer. A leader in the Civil Rights Movement, 
Fannie Lou Hamer faced down racism, violence, prison, and more in her 
fight for the right to vote. This week marks what would be Hamer's 
100th birthday, giving us an opportunity to reflect on Fannie Lou's 
legacy, her persistence in the face of adversity, and what her story 
means for our country today.
   For those of you who are not familiar with Hamer's story, Fannie Lou 
was born in 1917 in Mississippi, the youngest of 20 children. Her 
family worked as sharecroppers in Mississippi, and at the age of six, 
Fannie Lou joined them picking cotton.
   It was in 1962, after nearly forty years of working in the fields 
that Fannie Lou Hamer tried to register to vote. For African Americans 
in Mississippi during the Jim Crowe era, registering to vote was an act 
of extraordinary courage. This was a time when black men and women, 
mothers and daughters, and fathers and sons were beaten and lynched by 
white mobs with no legal repercussions.
   Fannie Lou knew these dangers, but nevertheless, she persisted. In 
August of 1962, she traveled to Indianola, Mississippi to register to 
vote. When she returned home after registering, she was fired by the 
owner of the plantation she worked on, who had warned her against 
registering.

[[Page E1318]]

   But nevertheless, she persisted. Leaving the plantation, Fannie Lou 
traveled the South, working with the Civil Rights movement, teaching 
African Americans to read and helping them register to vote. One day, 
on her way back from a literacy workshop, Fannie Lou was arrested on 
false charges and jailed. In jail, police beat Fannie Lou to within an 
inch of her life with a blackjack. It took Fannie Lou more than a month 
to recover, and the beating would scar her both mentally and 
physically.
   But nevertheless, she persisted. Over the next decade, Fannie Lou 
Hamer took her fight for the right to vote to the national party. From 
humble beginnings, she challenged the President of the United States, 
Members of Congress, the Democratic Party, and lawmakers at every level 
to confront the realities of racism in the United States and to build a 
democracy inclusive of all Americans.
   Time and again, she faced violence and she faced institutions built 
on decades of racism. But nevertheless she persisted.
   Today, I stand, not only to honor the courage and accomplishment of 
Fannie Lou Hamer, but to offer her story as inspiration to the 
Americans today who are fighting to make our country a better place to 
live. As we work to turn back new discriminatory voting laws, as we 
speak out for a more affordable health care system for all Americans, 
as we take a stand on issues like police brutality, we must persist.
   Mr. Speaker, I thank Congressman Thompson for organizing Members 
today in honor of Fannie Lou Hamer. We can never allow her work or her 
legacy to be forgotten.