Fannie Lou Hamer’s America Project to Receive Humanities Award
DECEMBER 7, 2021 – JACKSON, MS
A multimodal project aimed at preserving the life and legacy of civil rights icon Fannie Lou Hamer will be given the “Preserver of Mississippi Culture” Award by the Mississippi Humanities Council (MHC) at their 25th annual gala in March 2022.
The project, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, and several other recipients of the 2022 Public Humanities Awards were named by the MHC in an official press release on Thursday, Dec. 2. The annual awards ceremony held in Jackson, began in 1994 and recognizes the outstanding work by Mississippians in bringing the insights of the humanities to public audiences. The film, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, the centerpiece of the project, is slated for nationwide broadcast on PBS in February 2022.
The documentary is produced by Hamer’s niece, Monica Land, and Selena Lauterer of Artemis Independent. The film’s director and editor is Joy Elaine Davenport and the lead researchers and consultants are Fannie Lou Hamer authors and historians, Drs. Maegan Parker Brooks and Davis Houck. The project also features a digital K-12 educational curriculum written and developed by Brooks, Houck and several Mississippi educators; an animated movie from BrainPOP and a children’s book both developed and written by Brooks; a Driving Tour developed by Houck and the film’s 2nd camera/videographer Dr. Pablo Correa; an annual filmmaker’s workshop for high school students in the Mississippi Delta and an online Fannie Lou Hamer Resource Center for students and researchers on their website, www.fannielouhamersamerica.com. The MHC has awarded the project three grants since 2017, including the “Reflecting Mississippi” Award in October 2022.
“We have followed this project since its early days and are extremely impressed with how the film has turned out, the programming and outreach component of the project, and the national audience it will soon achieve,” said Dr. Stuart Rockoff, executive director of the MHC.
The new and original 90-minute film is told entirely in Hamer’s voice, spoken and sung, and features rare archival footage. The “Reflecting Mississippi” grant helped pay for that footage. The latter part of the film, a family segment, features original interviews with Hamer’s last living child, Jacqueline Hamer Flakes and Hamer’s nephew Jimmy “Sonny” Lacey.
Dr. Stuart Rockoff, Executive Director of the Mississippi Humanities Council presents awards at the 2019 gala. (Photo courtesy of the MHC)
Fannie Lou Hamer, a fierce proponent of voting rights, was a native of Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta, an activist, and a humanitarian. Through her efforts, she helped tens of thousands from the Black community to register and vote, she brought the first educational Head Start program to the Delta, and she provided clothing, housing, and food to the poor through her Freedom Farm and Pig Bank. Hamer was viciously beaten at the hands of law enforcement agents while in jail in Winona, MS in 1963. and used her platform at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, NJ to tell of her horrifying experiences. Hamer soon became a much sought-after speaker appearing on numerous television programs and news casts. Hamer died in March 1977 and is buried in her native Ruleville.
“The film will help ensure that Mississippians understand and appreciate the life and impact of this extraordinary woman,” Rockoff said. “It will also share her vital story with the rest of the country. For all of these reasons, we are proud to honor the project during our 50th anniversary year. Fannie Lou Hamer’s America truly reflects Mississippi in all of its richness and complexity.”
A reception and public ceremony will be held on Friday, March 25, at the Old Capitol Museum in Jackson.
A full list of recipients can be found on the MHC website.
About MHC:The Mississippi Humanities Council is a private nonprofit corporation funded by Congress through the National Endowment for the Humanities to provide public programs in traditional liberal arts disciplines to serve nonprofit groups in Mississippi. The humanities are the study of history, literature, religion, languages, philosophy, and culture. The Mississippi Humanities Council creates opportunities for Mississippians to learn about themselves and the larger world and enriches communities through civil conversations about our history and culture