Fannie Lou Hamer’s America

An America ReFramed, WORLD Channel and PBS Production

With major funding provided by:

W.K. Kellogg Foundation, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Black Public Media, Ford Foundation (JustFilms), Jonathan Logan Family Foundation, GBH Voices and Equity Fund, Mississippi Humanities Council, Mississippi Delta National Heritage Area and the Better Angels Society

Distribution by:

Women Make Movies (WMM)

Film Team.

  • Keith A. Beauchamp

    PRODUCTION CONSULTANT

  • Maegan Parker Brooks

    SENIOR RESEARCHER | FILM CONSULTANT

  • Pablo Correa Jr.

    CINEMATOGRAPHER

  • Joy Davenport

    DIRECTOR | EDITOR | CINEMATOGRAPHER | MUSIC COMPOSER | RESEARCHER

  • Robert 'RJ' Fitzpatrick

    CINEMATOGRAPHER

  • Davis W. Houck

    SENIOR RESEARCHER | CONSULTANT

  • Monica Land

    EXECUTIVE PRODUCER | PRODUCER | RESEARCHER | LICENSING & CLEARANCE

WORLD Channel & PBS Team.

  • Stephanie Frederic

    PRODUCER | BEYOND THE LENS

  • Christopher Hastings

    EXECUTIVE PRODUCER | CO-EDITOR

  • Selena Lauterer

    EXECUTIVE PRODUCER

  • Cecilia Préstamo

    CO-EDITOR

Film Team Bios. Film Press Kit.

Director’s Statement By Joy Elaine Davenport:

Fannie Lou Hamer's voice is undeniable.

I want this film to be a platform for her prophetic voice, for her words and her songs, because it is wrong that we do not remember her. It is wrong that her voice was silenced. As a filmmaker, as a white woman telling a Black woman's history, I have no right to speak for Mrs. Hamer. She is the only one who can tell her story. Not an omniscient narrator, not a talking head expert, just Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer from 626 East Lafayette Street, Ruleville, Mississippi. So this film was constructed using speeches, interviews, oral histories, television appearances, and performances that were recorded over the course of her life. The rest was shot in and around Sunflower County, including the place where she is laid to rest next to her husband, Pap, on the first forty acres of their Freedom Farm. When she speaks about America, she speaks about a broken promise. "The land of the tree and the home of the grave." But she also speaks of hope, of the young generations who will make the promise of democracy real. I hope this film reaches them. I have hope because her message reached me, too. Her words are prophetic because we have continued to ignore them. To those still in thrall to the American dream, her message is an alarm: it's time to wake up.

This is Fannie Lou Hamer's America.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s America Film Discussion Guide.

Fannie Lou Hamer’s America Donors and Supporters.

A very special thank you for your kindness, generosity and patience. We’re forever grateful. Thank you!

Deborah Adams, Mahboob Alam, Carol Anderson, Keisha Anderson, Devery Anderson, Maria Barrow, Hanna Bass, Becky Belcore, Shirley Bennett, Eliot Bexley, Richard Beymer, Raquel Bennett, Dr. Rhea Williams-Bishop, Heather Booth, Dalila Bothwell, Kenneth Bowie, Christina Bradley, Jeff Breslow, Dr. Maegan Parker Brooks, Genevieve Bryant, Mackenzie Bruckner, Georgellen Burnett, Lisa Califf, Courtney Chapin, Will Chase, Tracy Chow, Frank Coon, LaShaundrea Crook, Joe and Debbie Davenport, Krysten Davis, Carol Lee Dean, Lynn Dietrich, Katina Dilworth, Linda Downs, John T. Edge, Virgie Hamer Faulkner, Barb Fitch, Judy Shen-Filerman, Lawrence Fishman, Caitlin D. Fitzgerald, Cornelia Hamer, Sulla Hamer, Jacqueline Hamer Flakes, Lenora Hamer Flakes, Tracy Fortenberry, Ken Giles, Terry Schupbach-Gordon, Elle Gray, Lloyd Gray, Tara M. Gregg, Ted Hammerman, Pam McKelvy Hamner, Holly Hazleton, Matt Heidel, LeRoy Henderson, Kevin Hendricks, Dr. Rolando Herts, Eleanor Hong, Tracy Horenbein, Minnie Hamer Hoskins, Sam Houston, Marjorie Huebner, Vince Hughes, Irvin Hunt, J Leath Hunt, Leah Hunter, Monae James, Stacia Jemison, Kevin Jennings, Sara Finney-Johnson, Michele Kennerly, Gibbs Kinderman, Susan Koch, Sharlene Kranz, Susan Kupcinet.

Mary Land, Latisha Latiker, Shirley Lavin, Amy Lynch, Valerie Hamer Layne, Wendy C. Linas, Bob and Sandy Lipson, Laura Lipson, Victoria Marsh, Tracy Mason, Rosalind Matthews, Marilyn Mays, Irena McClain, Charles McLaurin, Ken McManus, Lindsey Michie, Mark Misrok, Wayne Moreland, John Muller, Dale Nelson, Sarah Olzawski, Jed Oppenheim, Kaitlyn Patia, Barbara Patterson, Doug Pennington, Bill Perlman, James Poe, Franklynn Peterson, Karen Post, Toya Nash Randall, Dr. Stuart Rockoff, Jeane Ridges, Gail Ross, Kenneth Rowie, Robert and Joan Sadoff, Michael Schwartz, Gail Shobe, Eddie and Mary Sue Short, Matt and Gina Shrewsberry, Andre Simmons, Esmerelda Simmons, Tavis Smiley, Ralph Smith, Diane Sourelis, David Tokaji, Judi k-Turkel, Dr. Cassie Sade Turnipseed, Patrick Weems, Byron Whyte, Pam Wyatt, Erica Williams, Sharon Wong, Ron Woywitka and Elmira Zenger.

Behind The Scenes.

Since 2007, the film crew worked to bring the film, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America to the small screen. Through the groundwork laid by Fannie Lou Hamer historians, authors and scholars, Dr. Maegan Parker Brooks and Dr. Davis W. Houck, we were able to find a treasure trove of photographs and archival footage showcasing the amazing and powerful influence of the iconic human rights activist and humanitarian. With the invaluable aid of Selena Lauterer and Chris Hastings, we were able to finally get the film across the finish line and on the air in February 2022.

It has been a long, difficult and satisfying journey, touched by many hands and many hearts!