Civil rights leader who played an instrumental role in organizing Mississippi Freedom Summer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1964.

Before Fame

As a child, she picked cotton on the plantation of E. W. Brandon in Mississippi.

Trivia

She was known for singing Christian hymns, such as "Go Tell It on the Mountain" and "This Little Light of Mine," during protests and movements in order to bolster the resolve of her fellow activists.

Family Life

She married her boyfriend Perry Hamer. She had 19 older siblings.

Associated With

She traveled to Indianola, Mississippi to register to vote after hearing a sermon given by James Bevel encouraging people to come together to vote.