Thread by @WhenWeAllVote

As we look towards Election Day, let’s take a look back at some of the Black women who have shaped our democracy.

Fannie Lou Hamer, born this week in 1917, co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and @NWPCNational despite not learning of voting until her 40s. (1/7)

Hamer was integral in organizing Freedom Summer, a campaign led by @SNCCDigital in which students and local residents registered Black citizens in Mississippi to vote. In her iconic 1964 speech, she recounted violence she faced and challenged America to progress. (2/7)

Ella Baker, who mentored young activists like Diane Nash and Stokely Carmichael, held major roles at @NAACP and @NationalSCLC before founding @SNCCDigital.

She championed grassroots organizing and was known to call out sexism within the civil rights movement. (3/7)

Septima Clark, known as the “Mother of the Movement,” was fired after 40 years of teaching because of her @NAACP involvement.

Clark designed @NationalSCLC citizenship schools, which helped Black people combat literacy tests and other forms of voter suppression. (4/7)

Mary McLeod Bethune was born to formerly enslaved parents and later appointed to FDR’s “Black Cabinet.”

She founded the @NCNWHQ and @bethunecookman, co-founded the @UNCF, and served as president of the @NACWC1896. (5/7)

Dorothy Height continued Bethune’s work through the civil rights era and 21st century, as @NCNWHQ president for 40 years. She was also president of her sorority @dstinc1913 and in leadership roles at the @YWCAUSA, she pushed the organization to adopt an anti-racist mission. (6/7)

When we all vote, we’re fulfilling the legacy of the Black women who dedicated their lives to expanding access to the ballot box to make our democracy work for everyone.

Honor them by making a plan to vote → weall.vote/hub (7/7)