23 | I’m Different | Fannie Lou Hamer’s Voting Revolution
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Wondery Plus subscribers can listen to Black History for Real early and ad-free right now. Join Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Atlantic City, 1964. It ain't even been a year since President Kennedy was assassinated. We're at the Democratic National Convention. President Lyndon B. Johnson just clinched the nomination for president. But...

If you want to win the election, Johnson needs party unity. And that means keeping white Southern Democrats happy. Yeah, happy. Johnson's got a big problem, though. And that problem is Fannie Lou Hamer.

The Democratic Party wasn't rocking with black folks then, especially down in hot ass Mississippi. It ain't the Democratic Party we used to hear about. Back then, the party was all white. Ain't sit right with Ms. Hamer. So she changed it and became the leader of a new political party, the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, or MFDP. The party's goal, you ask?

Getting more Black Mississippians involved in politics. Fannie Lou Hamer brings her fight for Black voting rights to the floor of the convention. She wants the MFDP to replace the all-white Mississippi Democrats.

Voter intimidation means the super-white Mississippi Democrats weren't elected fairly. Meanwhile, Fannie's political party got all their seats, according to party rules. Now representatives from the MFDP must argue their case in front of the Credentials Committee. These proceedings are televised, and the nation's eyes are on Fannie Lou Hamer and the party. They've got to convincingly argue their case, or the Mississippi Democratic Party will stay whites only.

Stakes couldn't be higher. Fannie walks towards the microphone, holding her purse. Out of the corner of her eye, she sees television cameras following her towards the table in her every move. Her heart is pounding, but she knows there's a lot of eyes on her. She has to project bravery. Fannie's come far from the back-breaking work of sharecropper labor.

Now, she's on national television, fighting on behalf of her whole race. Mr. Chairman, and to the credentials committee, my name is Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, and I live at 626 East Lafayette Street.

Fannie's showing extra bravery by starting her speech with her address. In Mississippi, one form of Black voter intimidation was publishing the names of any Black people who registered to vote. Sort of like civil rights paradoxing. That way, they would be open to white supremacist violence. But Fannie's laying it all out. As she famously said, she's sick and tired of being sick and tired.

Fannie's superpower is her voice. And her speech today is authentic, compelling, and powerful. No one can deny it. Especially not Lyndon B. Johnson. He's a politician. He knows a thing or two about swaying people with a speech. Lyndon needs to keep Southern white Democrats happy. And that's not going to happen if Fannie's on TV swaying sympathetic white viewers. Fannie Lou's gotta go. And he has a plan.

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From Wondery, this is Black History For Real, where we chronicle the stories of movers and shakers from Black history all over the world. The stories will inspire you, educate you, and more often than not, leave you shaking your damn head. I'm Consciously. And I'm Francesca Ramsey.

And this is the finale of our two-part series on Fannie Lou Hamer. In this episode, we're gonna talk about how Fannie brought her fight all the way to the top, literally.

and see how she helped lead a huge student activist movement, form her own political party, and ended up on live TV in front of millions of Americans in a time before social media. All with the hope of making life better for Mississippi sharecroppers like her. This is episode two, I'm different.

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It's 1963. When we last left Fannie Lou Hamer, she'd just endured a night of horrific abuse in a Mississippi jail. Fannie was arrested for sitting in the whites-only section of a bus. Many of her fellow activists with the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, also known as SNCC, were arrested too. SNCC scours Mississippi looking for Fannie and the other activists when they don't arrive home. The white officers found out about her activism and nearly beat her to death.

The assault leaves Fannie with kidney damage and other permanent injuries. It takes her more than a month to recover. And the injuries will plague her for the rest of her life. Four days pass before they're able to rescue Fannie and her fellow activists. The Justice Department charges the Mississippi officers with depriving Fannie and the others of their civil rights, six months after the brutal attack. It's December 1963.

We're in a stuffy Mississippi courtroom. Fannie's already testified. She described that fateful night in jail. The men who almost killed her are right in the room with her. And she's pointed them out. This could put her in more danger, but she doesn't care. She watches the jury. Her eyes dance from face to face. Twelve white men. They're chewing tobacco and spit out their disinterest.

Fannie already knows how this goes. Still, it's important that she stands her ground. The defense attorney addresses the jury. You have agitators on one hand and elected officials on the other. Who shall you believe? Excited whispers reach Fannie's ears. She turns. Some young white people are talking to each other. One makes eye contact with her and offers up a weak but supportive smile.

He's in awe of Fannie Lou's courage, just like the others. They're students from the University of Mississippi School of Law. It was plain to us that she was telling the truth and that the defense's witnesses were lying. Lies on top of lies. But Black American history tells a painful truth. And this trial ends like so many others. That all-white, all-male jury acquits the cops on all counts.

But watching Miss Injustice live and in person wakes up those white students. And those students are key to where Fannie's activism leads her next. Fannie has to recover quickly after trial. Snicks got big plans for Freedom Summer in 1964.

It's going to be directed by SNCC leader Bob Moses. Freedom Summer's got a pretty big goal, attempting to register as many Black Mississippians as possible to vote. SNCC knows most of these people will be denied, but that denial will highlight the injustice of Black citizens being denied their right to vote.

And here's where things get a little funky, you feel me? Bob Moses wants white Northern students to help, and not everyone's down with that. Some SNCC members don't trust white people. Others think they'll distract from the local black leaders. But Fannie, Fannie wants the white students involved. If we're trying to break down this barrier of segregation, we can't segregate ourselves.

She sees a whole nother perspective opposite of her peers. If things don't change in Mississippi, they need those white students. The federal government ain't stepping in unless there's white folks in danger. It's official. White students are involved in the movement.

It's June 1964. Fannie Lou Hamer is part of a delegation at the National Theater in Washington, D.C. They travel from Mississippi and their goal is to get the government to do its job. Protecting black voters exercising their constitutional right. They're looking to talk to President Johnson, but he ain't available. It's Attorney General Robert Kennedy

ain't available either. Fannie's the keynote speaker. She rises to speak and faces a large audience of writers, educators, lawyers, and citizens. I, along with my fellow activists, were held in that Winona, Mississippi jail for four days. I was beaten within an inch of my life, all for the crime of trying to vote.

More activists recount their experiences. Legal scholars discuss the government's duty to protect any and all voters. A transcript lands on President Johnson's desk, but he doesn't respond. He tries to ignore her, but it's not the last President Johnson's going to hear from Fannie Lou Hamer.

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It's the 21st of June, 1964, in Meridian, Mississippi. Three members of CORE pack inside a car. CORE is a sister organization to SNCC. They got some of the same values. James Chaney's a black man born and raised in Mississippi. Michael Schwerner and Andrew Goodman are two white Jewish students from New York.

They climb inside a car and chain him. They're headed to Philadelphia, Mississippi to investigate the burning of Mount Zion Baptist Church. James calls back on his way out the door. If we're not back by 4 p.m., start the looking for us. It's around 3 p.m.

Ash from the church clings to Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner's shoes. James can still smell the earthy and burnt ash as they drive away. His hands grip the wheel tightly. The Klan's violence leaves them angry and sad. In the rearview, a car approaches. James' heartbeat hums in his throat, and his breath grows shaky. The police in Mississippi have an eye on the activist. Deputy Sheriff Cecil Ray Price pulls him over.

He draws his gun and walks up to the car. When he sees Goodman and Schwerner in the car with James, he doesn't hide his disgust. A bunch of race traitors. Price arrests them all for speed. Goodman and Schwerner are held for investigation. Back at headquarters, the 4 p.m. deadline comes and goes. Concern turns into panic.

The activists start calling authorities in Mississippi. Hi, I'm calling to see if you've seen James Chaney? Nope, not here. Michael Schwerner? Haven't heard of him. What about Andrew Goodman? Sorry, can't help you. Activists even call the prison with a man in the hill. But the jailer lies and says they ain't there either.

At 10:00 p.m., Deputy Sheriff Price releases Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner. But he follows them out to their car, then tails them on the road out of town. Something's not right. James sees Price falling behind. He hopes it's a dream. Maybe he can escape this nightmare. Two more cars swerve along the road approaching them.

James pounds the gas. Dust flies from his wheels and catches the air like ghostly fingers. James swerves onto another highway, but the cars stay close behind him. He drives like this for miles. Then, for reasons we don't know, James stops the car on the side of the road. Deputy Sheriff Price called the local Klan. Everything's falling into place. Price approaches the car again. James' heart is pounding.

I thought you were going back to Meridian if we let you out of jail. We were, sir. You sure were taking the long way around. Get out that car, boy. James, Andrew, and Michael step out. The white supremacists all hoot and holler. They're enjoying the fear on their faces. James says a silent prayer. Deep down, he knows what will happen next. He exchanges a final look with Michael.

The men are reported missing. Their disappearance becomes a national news story. He doesn't really want to, but J. Edgar Hoover sends FBI agents to Mississippi to investigate. Soon after, the burning remains of the activist's car are discovered. Fannie Lou Hamer is with Michael's wife, Rita Schwerner, when this devastating news breaks. Rita's hardly had time to process the news when she stands in front of the press.

The investigation goes on for a whole month. It takes longer to find the bodies of the men. All the men were shot, but Chaney's body was defiled in another way. The white supremacist castrated him too.

The murders of Cheney, Goodman, and Schwerner shine a national light on violent racism in Mississippi. Fannie was right. Now that white folks are in danger, Freedom Summer is getting the national attention and the government intervention they need.

Since 1962, Fannie Lou Hamers fought to get Black Mississippians more involved in the political process. Not just as voters, but as officials too. The Democratic Party stands in the way of too much progress. Mississippi is a one-party state, and the most powerful Democrats call themselves Dixiecrats. Not exactly a word too friendly to Black people. Dixiecrats love segregation as much as they hate Black people.

Black Mississippians are barred from participating in meetings of the state's Democratic Party. The party's effectively whites only. Fannie Lou Hamer's not one to accept this sort of disrespect. And she doesn't. On April 26, 1964, she, along with activists James W. Wright, Ella Baker, and Bob Moses, make their own Democratic Party. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, or MFDP for short.

The founders claim they're the only democratically constituted body of Mississippi citizens. And they right. Mississippi Democrats ain't being chosen in fair elections. Most of the voters been intimidated out of voting. The MFDP is different, though. They open to everybody.

I think that there will be a lot of conversations this election season about third party candidates. And I think that there is a need for a party that is really representative of the people and not just bought out by a lot of corporations and foreign entities.

I think that right now there is a trade-off in America's international relations and international interests and domestic investments and interests. It is making it where a lot of people on both the left and the right feel like, you know, the both parties is kind of full of that shit you flushed down the toilets. Yeah, it's hard. The lesser of two evils option is so frustrating every election season and I

I really hope that we get to a place where these conversations about potential third party candidates or a new party coming up happen before we're this close to the election. You know, it's like I'm glad the conversation is happening, but.

But there's so much money that has to go into the political process, which is a whole nother conversation. But like the work has to happen in the four years leading up to the election, not just the year ahead. Otherwise, it's just a losing battle. And it's so frustrating because the American people deserve better. We should be able to vote for somebody that we're really excited about, not someone that we're like, OK, I got to do this.

And it's frustrating that we've had that situation for such a long time. Yeah. And in my humble opinion, for black history, for real, I think that both Democrats and all marginalized communities can take a real message from Fannie Lou Hamer and what was going on with the Democratic Party in Mississippi. Because I think that sometimes we forget about how.

the party switch sides, you know what I'm saying? From the Dixie crats to, you know what I'm saying? The progressive Republicans end up switching sides. I think that a lot of the people that put their blood, they sweat, they tears and doing a lot of that organizing. I think that sometimes we lose the recipe or we forget the groundwork that was put in. So we like gloss over the real shit that needs to happen. You know what I'm saying? I think that this two part series is,

on Fannie Lou specifically, I think that it kind of shows us how there was a altering in the structure, you know what I'm saying, in terms of how the parties look at and relate to black folks and uniquely what she was able to do for Mississippians, you know what I'm saying, especially when we look at what's going on in Mississippi right now and how they try actively to keep people from voting still in 2024. 1964 was an election year and the Democratic National Convention set for August.

The MFDP needs to work fast to build their power and influence if they hope to shake things up. The MFDP tries to participate in Democratic Party meetings, caucuses, and elections in the weeks leading up to the convention. But they're barred.

So they hold their own parallel proceedings. They elect county delegates at the local level. The delegates are teachers, maids, and sharecroppers who actually represent the people of Mississippi, unlike the white, wealthy Democrats. Here's what's wild. The Dixiecrats don't even like the 1964 Democratic candidate Lyndon B. Johnson. Johnson's record on civil rights is spotty, but they don't consider it spotty enough.

They consider him a supporter of civil rights. So they're outside openly campaigning for his Republican rival, Barry Goldwater. And Johnson still prefers the racist Dixiecrats to the MFDP.

Barry Goldwater. Seeing that name really does make me cringe because I know that's the MF-er that was really, you know, behind the whole Southern strategy and being able to make you aware the Dixie Cracks turned into what they turned into, the Republicans turned into what they turned into. And I think that in 2024, it's still like Goldwater still got the grips on all the little strategies and campaigning and how both of these parties still try to relate to their constituents.

At the MFDP's state convention, Fannie Lou Hamer's chosen as vice chair. 68 local delegates are elected, and all but four are black. This is the group looking to get seated at the DNC. Before the convention, the MFDP's chairman gets arrested. Now Fannie's got to step up and become the voice of the party. Fannie's a force of nature. The Dixiecrats can see the writing on the wall.

But they still gonna put up a good fight, though. They make it clear to Landon B. Johnson, if you seat the MFDP, we leaving the party. It's August 21st, 1964. Fannie Lou Hamer's on a bus with the other elected MFDP delegates.

They pull up in front of an old, rundown hotel called The Gym. It's not exactly the Ritz-Carlton, but it's all that they can afford. And they don't mind. They don't even mind sleeping three and four to a room. They're excited.

As they step off the bus, they're greeted by eager white reporters. Hi, I'm with the Press of Atlantic City. Can I get a quote? Can I talk with you for a moment about the MFDP off the record? Hey, New York Herald, could we speak to you off the record? Hi, just looking for a quick quote about your plans for the convention. A few MFDP delegates speak with reporters, but Fannie walks straight into the hotel. Fannie steps into the room.

It's humid and stuffy, but it'll do. A roommate turns to her. Ooh, I can't wait till you're speaking in front of that committee. Fanny wipes the sweat from her brow. Me either. She's a little nervous. She's excited, too. They're all excited. But what they don't know is that LBJ ordered the FBI to bug their rooms. All those excited conversations and strategy sessions are being listened to by the man.

It's August 22nd, 1964. The FBI has been listening to all the MFDP's strategy sessions, and not just in their bugged hotel rooms. NBC also provided FBI agents with press passes. Agents pretend to be reporters and trick MFDP delegates into giving them valuable information off the record. Now, the MFDP is testifying in front of the Credentials Committee.

If their testimonies are successful, they'll be able to convince the DNC to let them have seats at the convention. But the deck is stacked against them.

And it's real quick for the people in the back. The reason why the FBI is investigating them is because they think that what Fannie Lou Hamer is doing is going to destabilize American social order and or make it where the way that American peace is happening is, I'm saying, becomes a stabilizer. It's very important to recognize how threatening this is. Mobilizing that Fannie Lou was doing was seen to the establishment.

DNC officials try to hold the hearing in a room that's too small for TV cameras, but fail. The nation's gonna see this hearing. Rita Schwander's already spoken about the murder of her husband, Michael. But now it's time for the testimony everybody's been waiting for. Fannie Lou Hamers. Fannie squeezes past reporters to get to the microphone.

She focuses on taking one step at a time. The hot television lights glare down on her. They could sweat. But she looks calm and assured. Millions of Americans are watching her. If that makes her nervous, ain't no way of telling. A white man clips a microphone to Fannie's dress when she gets to the table. Do you want me to stand? The man shakes his head, nope.

Fannie sits in her seat and immediately launches into a testimony. It was the 31st of August in 1962 that 18 of us traveled 26 miles to the county court in Indianola. She speaks about her attempts to register to vote in Mississippi. She shares about being fired by Marlo for exercising her constitutional right. And I addressed him and told him to identify to register for you.

She talks about everything. She hides nothing from them, not even the night she spent being beaten in jail. She's incredible. Her testimony is compelling, too compelling. And Lyndon B. Johnson knew it would be. Good thing he's got a backup plan. Now we switch to the White House and NBC's Robert Goralsky.

Now, ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States. President Johnson calls an impromptu press conference. The news switches over and Americans wonder if he's announcing his VP pick or something equally important. Nope. He announces it's been nine months since JFK was shot, as if people forget. The only purpose of the press conference is taking attention away from Fannie. You see, funny thing about doing people dirty...

Sometimes, it backfires. Johnson can't prepare for this. Fannie Lou Hamish's testimony is so compelling that evening news programs rebroadcast it later that night. Fannie's words ricochet across the country into the homes of her fellow Americans. And if the Freedom Democratic Party is not seated now, I question America.

Is this America? The land of the free and the home of the brave? Where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hook because our lives be threatened daily because we want to live as decent human beings in America? Thank you.

I can be very grateful for how far we've come as a society and how I get to experience privileges and get access to things that my black grandparents and great grandparents didn't experience. But I think that I would be a fool if I didn't also acknowledge how many things have remained the same. Early in this month, we had a United States veteran, a young black man,

that was taking up his American rights of being able to bear arms and protect his home. And the law enforcement killed him in his home. So when I think about those last words, because our lives are being threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings in America,

I'm just reminded that we've come so far, we got still so far to go. And just recognizing that, you know, Breonna Taylor, Botham Jean, Atiana Jefferson, just to name a few black people that were murdered in their homes by law enforcement, their lives wasn't met with justice. So just let Fannie Lou's words, I feel like, really just sit with you and really think about what we have to do as a society along with how far we've come.

Yeah, I mean, I think that's the thing that keeps me encouraged as I work on this show.

that there's so much that I don't feel like I have control over and the power to influence, but through working on Black History for Real, we're able to tell these stories and contextualize them for people and expand their understandings of these issues so that we can continue to make progress. Because you're right, you know, I feel like it's a thing I say every episode, but we just have so much more work to do

And it can feel really overwhelming when you try to think of what it is you should be doing. I should be doing more, or I don't feel like I can do enough, or I'm just one person. And I think that the conversations that we're having are still pushing us forward and pushing us in the right direction, despite the fact that there's still so much injustice in this world. We're in the conference room at the Democratic National Convention.

Fannie Lou Hamer stands across from Senator Hubert Humphrey. The energy is tense. Fannie Lou Hamer and the MFDP want to replace the Mississippi Democratic Party's delegation. But Johnson ain't about to let that happen. It'll offend those racist Dixiecrats he cares so much about. So he sent Humphrey to take care of this little problem.

The president has what he considers a generous offer. Fannie put her hand on her hip. This ain't her first time getting a crooked offer from a white man. We're listening. Humphrey clears his throat. The president would like to invite you to be guests of the convention. Guests? That's correct. He promises that future conventions will bar all white delegations.

When Humphrey says guests, he means non-voting guests. They'd be there for decoration, like the black kids on college brochures. Can I be honest with you? My nomination for vice president depends on my ability to resolve this here issue. And there is no world where the MFDP gets a voting seat. So please, be reasonable. And there it is. Fannie can see exactly what's going on.

She purses her lips. "Are you saying you think that your job as vice president is more important than the rights of our black people in Mississippi?" Humphrey turns red. "Senator Humphrey, the trouble is you scared to do what you know is right." The answer is no. Slightly embarrassed, Humphrey leaves. The pressure against the MFDP continues, but they're not going down without a fight.

The MFDP starts a protest on the boardwalk outside the convention hall that night. It's a round-the-clock vigil. They put up giant photos of James Chaney, Michael Schwerner, Andrew Goodman, and their burnt-out car. Fannie Lou Hamer leads the protest group in singing spirituals.

Fanny's in the Union Baptist Church in Atlantic City. The hot weather does nothing to lower the tension and high tempers in the room. Everyone's frustrated. An assistant relays the latest compromise from the DNC. They're offering us two at-large seats, one for Aaron Henry, one for Ed King. Ed King's one of the four white delegates. He quickly stands and raises his hands.

If there can only be two, it shouldn't be me. It should be Fanny. The assistant makes brief eye contact with Fanny, then looks away. We can't. We can't say it's who? The president. Humphrey said the president will not allow, and these are his words, not mine, that illiterate woman to speak from the floor of the convention. All eyes turn to Fanny. Someone pipes up. We should take their offer. It's better than nothing.

It ain't better than nothing. It's disgraceful. The debate rages on. Fannie's blood is boiling, but she's got to make a rational decision. After listening to both sides, she stands. We didn't come all this way for no two seats. The MFDP doesn't get seated, but pro-MFDP delegates use their convention passes to smuggle in MFDP members anyway.

And get this, the white Mississippi Democrats don't even show up to the convention. They don't support Johnson, so them seats is empty. In active protest, the MFDP delegates take the floor and fill those seats until security guards remove them. The next day, the seats for the Mississippi delegates are gone. Johnson would rather stand alone than have the MFDP by his side.

It's a losing battle. The movement and Fannie Lou Hamer's speech help pave the way for the passing of the Civil Rights Act of 1965. The Civil Rights Act does something close to Fannie's heart. Protect Black citizens' right to vote.

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It's 1971, and Fannie Lou Hamer's at the organizing convention for the National Women's Political Caucus. Fannie's a founding member, and the group plans to get women more involved in politics. They sprang up after the Equal Rights Amendment failed to pass in 1970. The caucus consists of influential feminists like Gloria Steinem, Bella Abzug, and Betty Friedan. But there's a problem. A problem that's unfortunately somewhat familiar to Fannie.

The white members of the caucus don't want to take any official political stances. And that's not sitting right with the black members, namely Shirley Chisholm and Fannie. The black women urge the organization's other members to adopt a strict anti-racist position.

Shirley Chisholm and Fannie fear the organization would endorse a racist white woman over a black male candidate in favor of black liberation. Their argument's convincing. The caucus takes on an anti-racist policy position. It's one of the many ways Fannie makes others' lives better.

Man, I took some women and gender studies courses in college, and I learned a lot about how white women have a legacy of stealing, abandoning, and, you know, exploiting black women in these particular movements. Shout out to Susan B. Anthony. Shout out to, you know, Harry Beecher Stowe. Shout out to, hang on, I said Harry Beecher Stowe, I'm bullshitting you. I play too much. But I think that there's a lot that we can learn from this time.

when black women and white women were doing movement buildings. And I think that we can apply it to a lot of the half-baked analysis that a lot of people have towards black women when it comes to feminism in 2024. I think that the Fannie Lou Hamers, the, you know, Ida B. Wells of the world, they had way better criticisms for white feminism than a lot of these podcast bros do. And I think that if you picked up a book and just read, I'm just being, I'm just being frank and honest now, you should, you know. I, I,

I know you are, but it still made me laugh. I mean, it's just, you know, not one lie. But you know, though, it's like a lot of times when people like that make videos, most of the time they make half-baked analysis about how feminism is nothing for black women and it's just black women trying to be white women. And a lot of those arguments they try to make are actual arguments. The irony is those are arguments that white men make about women. Like, it's just...

It's this idea that like there are so many people, unfortunately, and I think that this is very much so in this instance with, you know, Fannie and Shirley advocating for anti-racist policies in these spaces where too often there are certain types of marginalized people that don't want liberation. They just want to be the oppressor. They're like, I just want to be able to do what they're allowed to do. I don't want all of us to be free. And so when I hear these criticisms, I'm like,

of feminist spaces. Oh, y'all are trying to be white women. It's like, no, we're just trying to get equal rights as women the same way that black people should have the same rights as everybody, you know? And it's that intersectional piece, unfortunately, is so difficult for people to wrap their minds around that just because you're oppressed in one area doesn't mean you're not privileged in another. And we often talk about this when we're talking about race and gender, but it's also sexuality issues

It's also physical ability. It's also what language that you speak, right? Like there's so many ways in which we can be privileged and it's important that we talk and understand and acknowledge all of them because you can't get free unless all of us are free. It's not a competition. And it frustrates me that we continuously have to say and explain that because in 2024, like this should be pretty basic common knowledge.

Yeah, but you see that sometimes when it comes to how, you know, white women in particular, do they white feminism, it sometimes comes at the expense of other people. So I know when I was learning about this little area right here, it was very interesting to me that a lot of

these white feminists opposed black men getting the right to vote because they felt like, you know, they shouldn't have got the right to vote before them. You know what I'm saying? And just really getting into the Ida B. Wells, W.E. Du Bois beefs that they had with Kenton, Elizabeth Kenton. And I feel like we could do a whole series on just historical beefs. You know what I'm saying? I feel like a lot of white feminists in particular would find themselves in a few of them. You know, especially when we go back to

This women's suffrage, first wave feminism, second wave feminism era, it was very exclusionary. And we ain't even going to get into, you know, the anti-transness of it all. But still have to be said in terms of intersectionality and how, you know, white women and black women sometimes come at the expense of each other because of white women be doing white women things. It's Sunday, March 20th, 1977.

It's been a long and exhausting road, Fannie Lou Hamer. We're in the Williams Chapel Baptist Church in Rudeville, Mississippi. Perry Pap Hamer and his daughters sit in the front pew. They're dressed in all black and their faces are wet with tears. Pap passes over a box of tissues to his daughters. He can see into the casket at the front of the church and he hates what he sees.

After 59 years of hard work, Fannie lays inside. She's finally at rest. Pap turns and looks towards the back of the sanctuary. It's filled to the brim. It's so full, there's an overflow service at Ruleville Central High School. More than 1,500 folks showed up to pay their respects. Everyone stands and opens their hymn books.

They all join together in song. It reminds Pap of his wife so much he wants to cry out in grief. The singing's beautiful, and it's a reminder. Fanny might be gone, but her powerful voice carries on. There's my love, shine, shine.

If you like Black History for Real, you can listen early and ad-free right now by joining Wondery Plus in the Wondery app or on Apple Podcasts. Prime members can listen ad-free on Amazon Music. Before you go, tell us about yourself by filling out a short survey at wondery.com slash survey.

This is episode two of our two-part series on Fannie Lou Hamer. We use multiple sources when researching our stories, including PBS, Mississippi History Now, and the SNCC Digital Gateway. A note, our scenes contain reenactments and dramatized details for narrative cohesiveness. Black History for Real is hosted by me, Francesca Ramsey. And me, Conscious Lee. Black History for Real is a production of Wondery.

This episode was written by Austin S. Harris. Sound design by Greg Schweitzer. The theme song is by Terrace Martin. Lindsey Gomez is a development producer. The coordinating producer is Taylor Sniffen. Sophia Martins is our managing producer. Sonia May is our associate producer. Our producer is Matt Gantt.

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