Fannie Lou Hamer at Home, Ruleville Mississippi

Born and raised in rural Mississippi, Fannie Lou Hamer spent her life fighting for civil rights. Educated through the 6th grade, Hamer, who could read and write, worked as a timekeeper on a plantation until she was fired for registering to vote. In 1962, she became an organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) and led community efforts to register Black voters. In June of 1963, Hamer traveled with a group of women to Charleston, SC, for a Southern Christian Leadership Conference meeting (SCLC). On the way home the group stopped in Winona, MS, where Hamer and her co-organizers were groped and severely beaten by the police, leaving Hamer with life-long physical injuries and psychological trauma. This photo was taken during her recovery.