New Fannie Lou Hamer Doc Awarded $3k Grants

Stockton University President Harvey Kesselman (far right) pictured with faculty and staff during the Fannie Lou Hamer Event Room dedication ceremony (Photo credit: Stockton University).

February 10, 2020 – JACKSON, MS

A new and original documentary, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, has received two grants to complete the film’s final cut prior to its distribution. The Mississippi Humanities Council awarded $2,000 and Stockton University in New Jersey donated $1,000.

Since 2003, Stockton has hosted an annual symposium celebrating Hamer’s work and life. In November 2018, the university renamed an event room at the new Stockton University Atlantic City campus in Hamer’s honor. The director and editor of Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, Joy Elaine Davenport, produced a video message from Hamer’s daughter, Jacqueline, for that ceremony.

“Fannie Lou Hamer’s speech at the 1964 Democratic Convention in Atlantic City was a pivotal moment in the civil rights movement,” said Stockton University Interim Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Michelle McDonald. “We are proud to help keep her legacy alive.”

Hamer delivered her emotional testimony before the Credentials Committee at the Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey in 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson tried unsuccessfully to prevent Hamer’s testimony from being seen nationwide. That testimony made Hamer one of the most sought-after speakers of her time.

A first of its kind film on the civil rights icon and humanitarian, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, allows its heroine to tell her own story in her own words by means of speeches and archival footage. Currently in post-production, the finishing funds will pay for the rights to that footage. Davenport has held screenings of the film in Mississippi, Oregon and Texas. Additional screenings are planned for March in Mississippi and Nebraska.

The concept for the film was developed by Hamer’s niece and journalist, Monica Land, who is also the film’s executive producer and researcher. Fannie Lou Hamer historians and authors Drs. Maegan Parker Brooks and Davis Houck are the film’s consultants and lead researchers, and award-willing filmmaker Keith Beauchamp and PBS promoter Selena Lauterer are executive producers.  The film is slated for a television release in 2020. 

“To those that lived the American Civil Rights Movement, Fannie Lou Hamer is legend. To the rest of the country – sadly, a vast majority of us – she goes uncelebrated. We can change that,” Lauterer said.

Fannie Lou Hamer's last surviving child, Jacqueline, is seen on screen during the Stockton University dedication ceremony. (Photo credit: Stockton University)

Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and several others, this is the third grant the Mississippi Humanities Council has awarded the project.

“This is a vital Mississippi story that will have a national impact. We are very pleased to help make it available to audiences across our state and throughout the country,” said Dr. Stuart Rockoff, Executive Director of the Mississippi Humanities Council.

The youngest of 20 children, Hamer was born to Mississippi sharecroppers on Oct. 6, 1917. From the very beginning, Hamer lived a life of hardship. From the age of six, she was forced to work alongside her family in the cotton fields of the Delta. But she rose to become a great humanitarian and one of the most notable voices of the civil rights movement. “When I liberate myself, I liberate others,” Hamer said. “If you don’t speak out, ain’t nobody going to speak out for you.”

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Two Historic Universities Host First Screenings of New Documentary, Fannie Lou Hamer’s America

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