"Is this America?" The story of Fannie Lou Hamer: on the 40th anniversary of the Voting Rights Act, JS recalls a woman who risked her life to fight injustice.CHARACTERS (in order of appearance) Fannie Lou Hamer Fannie Lou Hamer (born Fannie Lou Townsend on October 6, 1917 – March 14, 1977) was an American voting rights activist and civil rights leader. She was instrumental in organizing Mississippi's "Freedom Summer" for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee #, a sharecropper's daughter and voting-rights activist Mrs. Ella Townsend#, Fannie Lou's mother Mr. Jim Townsend, Fannie Lou's father Jim, Fannie Lou's brother Perry "Pap" Hamer, Fannie Lou's husband Bob Moses#, a civil rights leader Mr. Marlow, a plantation owner Police Officers 1 & 2 President Lyndon B. Johnson Election Clerk * Sharecroppers 1 & 2 * Narrators A-E A-E, AE above-elbow; see under amputation. Red indicates major role. Characters were real persons except those marked with a *. Note: Major role is indicated with #. About This Play Fannie Lou Hamer was born in 1917 in Mississippi. Her parents were sharecroppers. The youngest of 20 children, Fannie Lou grew up in a wooden shack without electricity and running water. She lived most of her life in Ruleville, in the heart of the Mississippi Delta This article is about the geographic region of the U.S. state of Mississippi. For other uses, see Mississippi Delta (disambiguation). The Mississippi Delta is the distinct northwest section of the state of Mississippi that lies between the Mississippi and Yazoo . This was the land of "King Cotton," lush river valleys, and winding dirt roads dirt road n (US) → camino sin firme dirt road n → chemin non macadamisé or non revêtu dirt road dirt n . On local plantations, sharecroppers worked long, punishing hours in all weather to raise the region's most important crop. The cruel system of sharecropping sharecropping, system of farm tenancy once common in some parts of the United States. In the United States the institution arose at the end of the Civil War out of the plantation system. Many planters had ample land but little money for wages. grew out of Reconstruction. People without land, mostly black Americans, farmed plots on plantations and paid rent with the crops they raised. Plantation owners charged heavily for supplies and other "expenses," often cheating sharecroppers out of the money they had earned. Unfair laws also kept blacks from exercising their freedoms, including the right to vote. Only blacks were required to take tests before registering to vote--tests designed for them to fail. This meant that they had no power to challenge the system. People who spoke out against it did so at great peril The designated contingency, risk, or hazard against which an insured seeks to protect himself or herself when purchasing a policy of insurance. Among the various types of perils for which insurance coverage is available are fire, theft, illness, and death. PERIL. . SCENE ONE Narrator NARRATOR. A pleader who draws narrs serviens narrator, a sergeant at law. Fleta, 1. 2, c. 37. Obsolete. A: It is 1925. The Townsend family Townsend family U.S. cabinetmakers in Newport, R.I., of the 17th–18th century. The brothers Job (1699–1765) and Christopher (1701–1773) were the first generation involved in furniture making. picks cotton on a plantation owned by whites. Eight-year-old Fannie Lou is working in the fields with her brother Jim James Gilles (b. 1962), better known as Jim Gilles or more commonly Brother Jim, is an American evangelist whose ministry is concentrated on college campuses, particularly in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, and surrounding areas. . Mrs. Townsend: Children, supper's on! Fannie Lou: Bread and onions again? Mr. Townsend: But you love onions. Fannie Lou: Now I'm sick of 'em! Jim: Me, too. Fannie Lou: The white girl up the road eats steak every night. Why aren't we white, Mama? Mrs. Townsend: Don't ever talk like that again, Fannie Lou. Fannie Lou: But black people work all the time, and they get nowhere. Mrs. Townsend: Respect yourself as a black girl, honey. Then other people will respect you. SCENE TWO Narrator B: Since shoes are too expensive, Mrs. Townsend ties sacks on her children's feet when they work in the fields. Fannie Lou: This ground is frozen. My feet are so cold, the skin on them has cracked open. Mrs. Townsend: Singing will help us through our troubles. [Singing:] I'm going to land on the shore, Where I'll rest for evermore ev·er·more adv. 1. Forever; always. 2. In a future time. evermore Adverb all time to come Adv. 1. . Narrator B: Fannie Lou learns many songs from her mother. Singing always helps raise her spirits. Mrs. Townsend: In a few weeks the harvest will be done. Then you children can go back to school. Jim: Hooray! I've picked so much cotton, my hands are bleeding. Narrator B: Children of sharecroppers attend school about four months out of the year. The rest of the time, they work in the fields. Fannie Lou: There's only one black child in my history book--and he's made out to be stupid. I wish they'd teach us about our own people. Jim: And give us a reason to be proud. Narrator B: One year, Fannie Lou's father manages to save a little money. Mr. Townsend: Now we can buy some mules. Fannie Lou: Let's call them Ella, Bird, and Henry. Narrator B: Mr. Townsend rents land off the plantation for the family to farm. This means that they will be able to keep more of the crops they grow. He buys a wagon and tools. Mr. Townsend: We're doing pretty well. The crops look good. Mrs. Townsend: But I'm scared. White folks don't want us to do well. Narrator B: One night, a white man slips into the yard and mixes a gallon of poison into the mules' food. The next morning ... Fannie Lou: Papa, do something! Jim: It's no use. Ella, Bird, and Henry are dead. Narrator B: Mr. Townsend cannot afford to buy more mules. Fannie Lou: Now we'll never get anywhere. Narrator B: Fannie Lou, then in the sixth grade, has to quit school to help support her family. SCENE THREE Narrator C: When Fannie Lou grows up, she marries Perry "Pap" Hamer, a sharecropper. They adopt two girls. Fannie Lou: We been workin' our whole lives, Pap, and still we're dirt poor. There must be a way to change this. Narrator C: In 1962, civil rights leaders Below is a list of civil rights leaders:
Bob Moses: If you want change, you must register [officially sign up] to vote. Sharecropper 1: I'd like to, but I'm afraid I'll lose my job. Sharecropper 2: I tried to register, but I failed the test. Then they set fire to my house. Fannie Lou: I'm not afraid. I'll go down to register. Narrator C: Fannie Lou and 17 others ride a bus to the county courthouse in nearby Indianola. Election Clerk: In order to vote, you need to know what a de facto [Latin, In fact.] In fact, in deed, actually. This phrase is used to characterize an officer, a government, a past action, or a state of affairs that must be accepted for all practical purposes, but is illegal or illegitimate. law is. Fannie Lou: I know as much about a de facto law, mister, as a horse knows about Christmas Day. Narrator C: De facto law means a rule that is enforced by custom but is not in the law books. Fannie Lou and the others flunk the literacy [ability to read] test. Fannie Lou: Even if I'd known the answers, they woulda found things I didn't know. Just so I'd fail. Narrator C: On the way home, Fannie Lou and the others are stopped by police officers. The bus driver is charged with driving a bus that is "too yellow." In order to be released, the group must pay a fine. A defiant de·fi·ant adj. Marked by defiance; boldly resisting. de·fi  ant·ly adv.Adj. 1. Fannie Lou begins to sing. Famine Lou (singing): Ain't gonna gon·na Informal Contraction of going to: We're gonna win today. let nobody turn me 'round, oh no--I'm gonna keep on walking ... Narrator C: That night, when Fannie Lou returns home, Pap is worried. Pap Hamer: Did the girls tell you that Mr. Marlow came by? Narrator C: The Hamers live on Marlow's plantation. Fannie Lou: Yeah. What'd he want? Pap: To talk with you. He was angry. Fannie Lou: Well, I'm gonna fix supper and forget about Mr. Marlow. Narrator C: Just then, Marlow walks into the shack, a gun in his hand. Marlow: We can't have you registerin', Fannie Lou. We're not ready for it. Fannie Lou (calmly): I didn't go down there to register for you, Mr. Marlow. I went down to register for myself. Marlow: Then get off my property. Narrator C: Marlow storms out. Pap: Pack your clothes, Fannie Lou, and I'll take you someplace some·place adv. & n. Somewhere: "I didn't care where I was from so long as it was someplace else" Garrison Keillor. See Usage Note at everyplace. safe. Girls, stay here. I'll be back soon. SCENE FOUR Narrator D: Fannie Lou doesn't stay away from Ruleville for long. In December 1962, after studying the Constitution, she successfully registers to vote. Despite health problems, she also volunteers to become a voting rights Voting rights The right to vote on matters that are put to a vote of security holders. For example the right to vote for directors. voting rights The type of voting and the amount of control held by the owners of a class of stock. activist [reformer]. For this, local officials harass harass (either harris or huh-rass) v. systematic and/or continual unwanted and annoying pestering, which often includes threats and demands. This can include lewd or offensive remarks, sexual advances, threatening telephone calls from collection agencies, hassling by her. She receives a $9,000 water bill even though her house has no running water. Moses: Will you go to a training conference with some of our other leaders, Fannie Lou? Fannie Lou: I'll go wherever you need me. Narrator D: On the way home from the conference, the group stops at a bus station in Winona, Mississippi Winona is a city in Montgomery County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 5,482 at the 2000 census. The name of the city comes from a Sioux word meaning "first-born daughter." It is the county seat of Montgomery CountyGR6. . Police officers arrest and jail them. Police Officer 1: Where are you from? Fannie Lou: Ruleville. Narrator D: The officer kicks Fannie Lou and pushes her onto the floor. Police Officer 1: You're the one who's been helping folks to vote. Narrator D: He hands a leather strap to a black prisoner. Police Officer 2 (to the prisoner): Make her wish she were dead--or you know what we'll do to you. Narrator D: The prisoner whips Fannie Lou until the skin on her back is bruised bruise v. bruised, bruis·ing, bruis·es v.tr. 1. a. To injure the underlying soft tissue or bone of (part of the body) without breaking the skin, as by a blow. b. and swollen. Fannie Lou (singing): This little light of mine "This Little Light of Mine" is a negro spiritual, themed on the importance of unity in the face of struggle. Under the influence of Zilphia Horton, Fannie Lou Hamer and others it eventually became a Civil Rights anthem in the 1950s and 1960s. , I'm gonna let it shine. Narrator D: Fannie Lou sings in her cell, but she is badly hurt. Her kidneys are permanently damaged, her blood pressure is high, and she has a fever. Police Officer 2: That'll teach you to get uppity. Narrator D: After three days, the group is released. The U.S. Justice Department later brings criminal charges against Winona officials. But at the trial, an all-white jury "An all-white jury" is an American political term used to describe a jury in a criminal trial, or grand jury investigation, composed only of white people, with an expectation that the deliberations may not be fair and unbiased. finds them not guilty. SCENE FIVE Narrator E: In the spring of 1964, Fannie Lou joins the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party was an American political party created in the state of Mississippi in 1964, during the civil rights movement. It was organized by black and white Mississippians, with assistance from the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, to win (MFDP MFDP Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (Civil Rights movement) MFDP Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (Botswana) MFDP Minority Faculty Development Program MFDP Mark Foehringer Dance Project ). Moses: We tried to work with the state Democratic Party. Fannie Lou: It's no use. They hold their meetings in secret so we can't attend. Noses: In August, we'll go to New Jersey. We'll send our own delegates to the Democratic convention [meeting] in Atlantic City Atlantic City, city (1990 pop. 37,986), Atlantic co., SE N.J., an Atlantic resort and convention center; settled c.1790, inc. 1854. Situated on Absecon Island, a barrier island 10 mi (16. . Narrator E: Lyndon B. Johnson became President in November 1963, after John E Kennedy's assassination Assassination See also Murder. assassins Fanatical Moslem sect that smoked hashish and murdered Crusaders (11th—12th centuries). [Islamic Hist.: Brewer Note-Book, 52] Brutus conspirator and assassin of Julius Caesar. [Br. . In 1964, Johnson is running for election to a full term as President. Fannie Lou: What a long bus ride! Let's hope somebody here will listen to us. Narrator E: Democratic officials will not allow the 68 MFDP delegates to be seated on the convention floor. President Johnson doesn't want to anger white voters in the South. Moses: Fannie Lou, you have to speak directly to the American people An American people may be:
Narrator E: Fannie Lou appears before convention leaders and TV cameras. Fannie Lou: If the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party is nor 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 are threatened daily? Narrator E: To draw attention away from Fannie Lofts speech, the President calls a press conference. But her speech is broadcast on TV that evening. Many people phone the White House and the convention to express support for the MFDP. President Johnson: All right, we'll seat two of your delegates. Fannie Lou: We didn't come all this way for just two seats. Narrator E: In the end, the MFDP accepts Johnson's compromise. AFTERWORD af·ter·word n. See epilogue. President Johnson won the 1964 election and, in 1965, signed the Voting Rights Act Voting Rights Act Act passed by the U.S. Congress in 1965 to ensure the voting rights of African Americans. Though the Constitution's 15th Amendment (passed 1870) had guaranteed the right to vote regardless of “race, color, or previous condition of servitude,” . This set of laws eliminated many barriers that kept blacks from the polls. Fannie Lou Hamer continued to fight injustice. She ran for office several times and helped impoverished im·pov·er·ished adj. 1. Reduced to poverty; poverty-stricken. See Synonyms at poor. 2. Deprived of natural richness or strength; limited or depleted: blacks until her death in 1977. Your Turn THINK ABOUT IT Why did Fannie Lou Hamer risk her life to bring about change? Time Line: Freedom March As late as the 1960s, African-Americans in the South faced violence when they registered to vote, enrolled in white schools, and entered white restaurants. Here are some milestones of the civil rights movement. 1955. In Montgomery, Alabama Montgomery is the capital and second most populous city of the U.S. state of Alabama and the county seat of Montgomery County. Montgomery is notable for its historic involvement during the Civil War, for being the first capital of the Confederacy, and for being a primary site in , African-Americans boycott buses that force them to sit in the back. 1960. Students stage sit-ins at all-white lunch counters in Greensboro, North Carolina “Greensboro” redirects here. For other uses, see Greensboro (disambiguation). Greensboro, North Carolina (IPA: [ɡɹiːnsbʌɹəʊ]) is a city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. . 1962. James Meredith Noun 1. James Meredith - United States civil rights leader whose college registration caused riots in traditionally segregated Mississippi (born in 1933) James Howard Meredith, Meredith becomes the first black student to enroll at the University of Mississippi The University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, is a public, coeducational research university located in Oxford, Mississippi. Founded in 1848, the school is composed of the main campus in Oxford and three branch campuses located in Booneville, Tupelo, and Southaven. . 1964. Three "freedom fighters" are killed in Mississippi for registering black voters. 1965. The Voting Rights Act is passed with support from President Johnson. 1968. The Civil Rights Act prohibits discrimination in housing. YOUR TURN WORD MATCH
-- 1. activist A. by custom
-- 2. register B. ability to
read
-- 3. de facto C. meeting
-- 4. literacy D. reformer
-- 5. convention E. sign up
1. D 2. E 3. A 4. B 5. C * OBJECTIVE Students should understand * Fannie Lou Hamer, a poor sharecropper, risked her life to help Southern blacks exercise their right to vote without fear of punishment, injury, or death. * WORD TO KNOW sharecropper: a farmer who works someone else's land, giving the landlord a share of all produce instead of paying rent. * TEACHING STRATEGY Ask: "What does the right to vote mean to you? How would you feel if you were denied that right, or had to risk your life to exercise it?" * BACKGROUND The Constitution's guarantee of the right to vote was long denied to African-Americans. Practices ranging from taxes and literacy tests Literacy Test refers to the government practice of testing the literacy of potential citizens at the federal level, and potential voters at the state level. The federal government first employed literacy tests as part of the immigration process in 1917. to beatings and even murder kept generations of Southern blacks from going to the polls. * CRITICAL THINKING NOTING DETAILS: Why were there two Mississippi delegations at the 1964 Democratic convention? (The official delegation was all white. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, organized in protest, had black and white delegates.) MAKING CONNECTIONS: Why did sharecroppers' children attend school only four months of the year? (They were needed to help with the farmwork.) ** ACTIVITY IN HER PLACE. Read this quote from Hamer to students: "I didn't know anything about voting.... [T]hey talked about how it was our right, that we could register and vote. They were talking about we could vote out people that we didn't want in office.... I wanted to try it. I had never heard, until 1962, that black people could register and vote." Have students put themselves in Hamer's place, and write a brief "diary" entry for that night, describing how that discovery felt. STANDARDS SOCIAL STUDIES, GRADES 5-8 * Civic ideals and practices: How Fannie Lou Hamer learned that Southern blacks were being denied the basic right to vote, and how her courageous pursuit of justice made a positive difference in the lives of all African -Americans. RESOURCES * Donovan, Sandra, Fannie Lou Hamer (Raintree Publishers, 2003). Grades 6-8. * Litwin, Laura Baskes, Fannie Lou Hamer: Fighting for the Right to Vote (Enslow Publishers, 2002). Grades 6-0. WED SITES * A speech by Fannie Lou Hamer historychannel.com/speeches/archive/speech_401.html * Interviews with Fannie Lou Hamer (audio and text) lib.usm.edu/%7Espcol/crda/oh/hamer.htm * Write the letter of the correct answer on the line before each question. --16. How often did Fannie Lou Townsend and other children of poor black sharecroppers usually attend school? A. about four months per year B. about six weeks each summer C. every other semester se·mes·ter n. One of two divisions of 15 to 18 weeks each of an academic year. [German, from Latin (cursus) s --17. What made Marlow, the Hamers' landlord, angry enough to order Fannie Lou off his property? A. He discovered that Fannie Lou Hamer had voted for his opponent in a local election. B. He heard that Fannie Lou Hamer had tried to register to vote. C. Someone told him that the Hamers had poisoned his mules. --18. What kind of rule is a de facto law? A. a rule in which every statement is a fact B. a rule that doesn't exist in written, legal form, but is established and enforced by custom C. a rule that is passed into law but is usually not enforced --19. For what "offense" was Fannie Lou Hamer arrested, jailed, and beaten? A. attending a speech by Bob Moses B. demanding to be seated as a delegate at the Democratic Party's national convention C. helping Southern blacks register to vote --20. What compromise did President Lyndon B. Johnson make with the delegates of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party? A. All 68 delegates would be seated if Fannie Lou Hamer promised not to speak with the press. B. Two of the MFDP's 68 delegates would be seated. C. He would sign the Voting Rights Act into law if the MFDP delegates would return home. 16. A 17. B 18. B 19. C 20. B |
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