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




 HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF CIVIL RIGHTS ACTIVIST, MS. FANNIE LOU 
                                 HAMER

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 3, 2017

  Ms. EDDIE BERNICE JOHNSON of Texas. Mr. Speaker, I rise to honor the 
civil rights icon and voting rights activist, Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer. Ms. 
Hamer is fondly remembered and admired for her activism during the 
Civil Rights Movement while speaking out against the injustices that 
African Americans faced in Mississippi and across the United States.
  Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer was born in Montgomery County, Mississippi, to a 
family of impoverished share croppers. At just six years old, her 
family expected her to work in the fields, which she continued to do 
for most of her early life until she was fired for trying to register 
to vote.
  At 37 years old, Ms. Hamer launched her career in political activism, 
which soon became her chief mission in life. Ms. Hamer attended a 
meeting hosted by the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) 
and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) where she first 
registered to vote and became a field worker on the voter registration 
committee. In 1964, she attended the Democratic Convention in Atlanta 
and eventually helped found the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. 
Ms. Hamer became one of the faces of the civil rights struggle in 
Mississippi.
  While the Voting Rights Act of 1965 codified what Ms. Hamer fought so 
hard for in our country, there still remains much to do. Before the 
2016 election, 14 states adopted new voter laws under the guise of 
combating voter fraud, which essentially created new barriers to voting 
for tens of thousands of low-income citizens and citizens of color. 
Later, the Supreme Court decision in Shelby v. Holder left many across 
the nation without their fundamental right to vote by reversing a key 
formula used in the Voting Rights Act to hold states accountable. On 
May 11, 2017, President Trump issued an executive order that would 
create an ``election integrity'' commission, which has been stated to 
combat voter fraud, but in reality will lead to a repeat of the 
egregious mistakes of our past.
  Mr. Speaker, Ms. Hamer's persistence and diligence in her fight for 
voting rights was integral to the Civil Rights Movement and the 
eventual passage of legislation that protected the right to vote for 
all citizens. We must continue to remember her struggle, as the 
struggle continues even to this day. By .honoring Ms. Hamer's legacy, 
we can learn from the mistakes of our past and recognize those who had 
fought for a better future.

                          ____________________