Visitor’s Center.
Since her death on March 14, 1977, Fannie Lou Hamer has been recognized worldwide as a national icon.
Her funeral and memorial service in Ruleville, MS later that month drew more people than the small town in the Delta actually had as residents. People who were not able to see her in life, flocked to William Chapel for the last chance to see her - in death. And since then, her final resting place has seen a constant flow of visitors from across the county who come to pay their respects to a woman who accomplished so much at the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden in Ruleville.
Local officials estimate that hundreds of people visit Hamer’s gravesite annually and her nearby statue that was unveiled on October 5, 2012. These consist of families, individuals, educational groups and organized tours. One such group is The Great Mississippi Road Trip organized by the Mississippi Centers for Justice (MCJ) which toured the Garden in October 2023. The group is planning for another tour in October 2024. (Photos below courtesy of MCJ)
Iowa State & Langston University.
Students from Iowa State University and Langston University visited many historical sites in the Mississippi Delta, including the statue of Fannie Lou Hamer, who advocated voting and civil rights in the 1960s and 70s.
The new Study USA Programs offered by Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences allow undergraduate students to earn academic credit while embarking on domestic travel within the U.S.
In March 2022, the inaugural Study USA program took students to the Mississippi Delta over spring break, and was led by Gail Carpenter, assistant teaching professor of animal science. Carpenter planned the inter-institutional trip with Nick Timmerman, assistant professor of history at Langston University, a Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in Langston, Oklahoma.