This week’s show will detail for our listeners the First Annual Fannie Lou Hamer Birthday of Political Action to be held on October 6th, 2016. This special 99th Birthday celebration will highlight and promote the incredible legacy of Fannie Lou Hamer who galvanized Black political power in the South in the 1960’s. The Political Day of Action will focus on the push for voter registration before the closing of voter registration in numerous states on October 8, 9, 10th and 11th. And the show will look at the unique impact of Black women on 2016. Our guests will include Sharon J. Hill of the National Women’s Political Caucus; Glynda C. Carr is a co-founder of Higher Heights for America; and other prominent women’s leaders and political activists.
Born on October 6, 1917, Fannie Lou Townsend would rise from a sharecropper picking cotton to one of the nation’s foremost civil rights leaders. During the early 1960’s, she was subjected to physical brutality and cruelty including a forced hysterectomy and beatings during her activism to register Black voters. Her unique strengths included strategic and tactical skills and a beautiful inspirational singing voice. She was instrumental in the creation of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). In 1964 she would lead the charge challenging the State of Mississippi’s all-White delegation and drawing the ire and opposition of President Johnson. A political compromise which excluded Ms. Hamer would resolve the 1964 crisis but in 1968 her campaign would force the Democratic Party to adopt an equality of representation for states’ delegations leading to the seating of the MFDP. She would be elected a national party delegate in 1972 and run unsuccessfully for Congress. Throughout her career, Fannie Lou Hamer was a great political and community activist. On March 14, 1977, at 59 years of age, she would die from hypertension and breast cancer. Her early leadership in the civil rights movement would define a needed space for Black women to challenge patriarchy in the fights for racial justice.
How do we educate and continue Fannie Lou Hamer’s legacy? How do we mobilize voters before voter registration deadlines close? What are the plans for celebrating the critical 100th Birthday Anniversary next year?
In 2008 and 2012, Black women set new records for electoral participation outpacing all other groups. Yet, there are only 2 Black women who hold statewide elected executive positions in the US out of 365 positions. Black women are 3.5% of all state legislators. Black women constitute only 1.9% of mayors in cities with populations over 30,000. There are 0 Black women US senators and 0 governors. Until the confirmation of Loretta Lynch in 2015, there were no Black women in the Cabinet of the Obama Administration.
What can be done to leverage the political power of African American women for real power in elected representation, appointed positions at the federal level and in public policy outcomes which target the specific issues and needs of Black women?
Our guests are involved in concrete actions to empower African American women and will describe their plans for this year and years to come.
These and other contemporary topics will be discussed during our show.
You don’t want to miss this show.
Jaribu Hill
Jaribu Hill is a licensed attorney. She is Founder and Executive Director of the Mississippi Workers’ Center for Human Rights. Hill is an author and […]
Sharon J. Hill
Sharon J. Hill is the former National VP of Development of National Women’s Political Caucus, NWPC, and NWPC Georgia President continually guiding the “Run to […]
Glynda C. Carr
Glynda C. Carr, Co-Founder, Higher Heights Advocate and political strategist Glynda C. Carr is recognized for her innovative leadership style, commitment to expanding the civic […]
Past Show – October 4, 2016
October 4, 2016
