Hamer, Fannie Lou
1917-1977 · Contribution: 1969-1976
Civil-Rights Leader & Cooperative Founder
Founded the Freedom Farm Cooperative, a landmark agricultural self-sufficiency project providing food, housing, and economic independence for Black sharecroppers facing eviction for voting
Portraits are AI-generated interpretations, not photographs.
Quick facts
- Born
- 1917
- Active since
- 1969
- Category
- Agriculture & Food
- Best known for
- Freedom Farm Cooperative"Pig bank" programFood-sovereignty model
Impact on the world
Hamer turned agricultural self-sufficiency into a weapon against the economic retaliation Black Mississippians faced for demanding the vote. Her cooperative fed and housed families the system tried to starve out.
An alternative history
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Sources
- Source lookupFind
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1943-2018
Led the Federation of Southern Cooperatives for 46 years, personally obtaining the Freedom of Information Act documents that built the legal foundation for Pigford v. Glickman, already profiled in this collection; grew the organization from 22 to 75 cooperatives while building 18 community credit unions
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