Jonathan Logan Family Foundation Awards New Fannie Lou Hamer Film $25,000
FEBRUARY 25, 2022 – OAKLAND, CA - The highly anticipated film, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, received a $25,000 grant from the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation. The funding supported the costs of the archival footage used in the film, and for community engagement following its release.
The new and original documentary aired on PBS worldwide on Feb. 22 and again on Feb. 24 as the 10th season opener for the award-winning series, America ReFramed. Fannie Lou Hamer’s America is the first film that allows the civil rights icon and humanitarian to tell her own her own story - in her own words - by means of rare archival footage and speeches.
“We are deeply grateful to the Logan Foundation for their generosity and recognition of the worth of not just the film, but of Mrs Hamer’s lasting importance to our country,” said Selena Lauterer, executive producer of the film.
A Mississippi-sharecropper-turned-civil rights activist, Hamer was the leading woman’s voice of voting rights during the 1960s to mid-70s. Known for her powerful speeches and impassioned pleas for equal rights, Hamer delivered an emotional testimony at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City about being harassed in Mississippi and viciously beaten by police in jail a year earlier. Although President Lyndon B. Johnson sought to divert attention away from Hamer by calling an impromptu press conference, Hamer’s testimony was televised nationally and aired later that evening. Hamer soon became one of the most sought-after speakers of her time. Before her death at age 59, on March 14, 1977, Hamer helped thousands of Blacks to register to vote. She also established food banks, provided clothing and housing, and educational programs for those living in the historically underserved Mississippi Delta, regardless of their race.
The Jonathan Logan Family Foundation has long supported documentary films like Fannie Lou Hamer’s America that highlight “world-changing work” and ideas and actions that illuminate the world and create positive change.”
The film was directed and edited by Joy Davenport and produced by Hamer’s niece, Monica Land. The researchers and consultants on the film were Fannie Lou Hamer authors and historians, Dr. Maegan Parker Brooks and Dr. Davis Houck.
“Fannie Lou Hamer’s America is a must-see documentary,” said America ReFramed executive producer, Chris Hastings. “And GBH WORLD is grateful for the support of the Logan Foundation as we join Monica Land to bring this film to audiences worldwide.”
Fannie Lou Hamer’s America is the centerpiece of a global multimodal project to amplify Hamer’s voice, that also includes: a film discussion guide, a K-12 educational curriculum that was piloted in Hamer’s native Sunflower County in the Mississippi Delta; a driving tour of Hamer-related sites; a free young filmmaker’s workshop; a children’s book; an animated movie on BrainPOP, and a resource center for students and researchers.
Fannie Lou Hamer’s America is now streaming on WORLD Channel.org, and the PBS and YouTube apps.
Mission of the Jonathan Logan Family Foundation: “We support organizations for which our grants will make a significant difference. We are continuously inspired by our grantee partners and honored to be able to support their work.”