Frannie Lou Hamer 1917- 1977 Frannie Lou Hamer was born in Mississippi in the 20th Century, a time o

Frannie Lou Hamer 1917- 1977 Frannie Lou Hamer was born in Mississippi in the 20th Century, a time of intense racial discrimination in the South. Frannie was the youngest of twenty children and worked as a sharecropper, first with her family and then with her husband. Frannie and her husband, Perry, were unable to have children. While in surgery to remove a tumor, the doctor gave Frannie a hysterectomy without her consent. Frannie was outraged. Though she could no longer give birth, Frannie raised four adopted children.  In 1962, Frannie registered to vote at a protest meeting where she met several civil rights activists. When she attempted to carry out this right, she and the 17 others who went to vote with her met opposition from law enforcement. She was fired from her job and driven from her home. She began working for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. She participated in and led acts of nonviolent civil disobedience and was often the victim of threats, arrests and violence. Frannie was even shot at. Frannie helped found the Freedom Democratic Party and the National Women’s Political Caucus. She ran for congress, though unsuccessfully. In 1976, Frannie was diagnosed with breast cancer. She died the following year.   In 1972, a unanimous resolution praising Frannie’s contributions to civil rights was passed in Mississippi. She received an honorary PhD from Howard University, among other humanitarian awards.  -- source link

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