“There are two things we should all care about: never to forget where we came from and always praise the bridges that carried us over,” stated Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977), a towering figure in the Black Freedom Movement of the 60s. In celebration and commemoration of the 100th birthday of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, freedom fighter and a giant in a generation of great Black leaders, such as Malcolm X, Ella Baker, Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and others, the African American Cultural Center (Us) will host a community celebration in honor and praise of this enduring bridge on Sunday, October 8, 2017, 3:00pm at 3018 West 48th Street, Los Angeles, CA 90043. The program will include speeches from various community leaders as well as cultural expressions from community artists.
Born October 6, 1917, in Fayetteville, Mississippi, Mrs. Hamer literally walked off the plantation in Mississippi to lead a voter registration drive, to confront the murderous Jim Crow laws of America, and to expand the realm of freedom and justice in this country. A member of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Mrs. Hamer was also co-founder of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and founder of the Freedom Farm Cooperative and numerous other institutions she established to benefit Black and other poor people of Mississippi. She made international headlines with her testimony at the 1964 Democratic National Convention before the credentials committee where she challenged the seating of the all-White segregated Mississippi delegation and exposed the racist brutality and hypocrisy of America to the world. She stated, “I question America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off of the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings.”
Distinguished speakers invited to address Mrs. Hamer’s legacy and the ongoing Black Freedom Movement include: Dr. Maulana Karenga, professor and chair, Department of Africana Studies, CSULB; Mr. Greg Akili, Fannie Lou Hamer Institute; Ms. Mollie Bell, noted community activist; Mr. Danny Crumble, former Vice-Chair, Africana Studies Student Association, CSULB; Hon. Robert Farrell, Freedom Rider and former L.A. City Councilman, 8th District; Ms. Yvonne Farrow, actress/activist; Ms. Carolyn Fowler, New Frontier Democratic Club; Ms. Ronisha Haden, Reacher’s Club; Hon. Jan Perry, City of Los Angeles; Professor Amen Rahh, professor emeritus, Department of Africana Studies, CSULB; Dr. Kamili Sartin, Department of English, Cerritos College; Rev. Thembekila Smart, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC); and Rev. KW Tulloss, National Action Network. The community and public are invited to come and celebrate the life and legacy of this enduring and the beautiful bridge that continues to carry us over.
