Thread by @rochelleriley

In 1961, Fannie Lou Hamer received a hysterectomy by a white doctor without her consent. Two years later, after successfully registering to vote, she and other Black women were arrested for sitting in a “whites-only” bus station restaurant in Charleston, S.C.
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At the jail, she and several of the women were brutally beaten, leaving Hamer with lilfelong injuries, including kidney damage, leg damage and a blood clot in her eye.
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In 1964, Hamer co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP), which challenged the local Democratic Party’s efforts to block Black participation. Hamer & MFDP members went to the Democratic National Convention, arguing to be recognized as the official delegation.
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On August 22, 1964, #FannieLouHamer delivered one of the most important speeches in civil rights history on live television at the DNC, decrying racial discrimination
and declaring: “All my life I’ve been sick and tired. Now I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired.”
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President Lyndon Johnson, worried about how her words might affect his upcoming presidential campaign, called a last-minute press conference to get Hamer’s controversial testimony off the airwaves. Many TV networks broadcasted it later during the nightly news.
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#FannieLouHamer spent her life fighting for the rights of Black Americans to vote. How dare we not vote today. We must all make a choice between America and hate. It is that simple. Fix the parties later. Fix the system later. But America may not survive more of #TheTrumpShow.
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In honor of #FannieLouHamer, who was violated, beaten and terrorized fighting for the rights of African Americans to participate in America, to be a part of America, to help govern America, vote! #VOTE!!!

In her honor & for my parents, grandparents and ancestors, I did.

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