Political Quotes

“I thank the gentlewoman for the very kind comments. But to talk about Mrs. Hamer and her work is easy. It speaks for itself. I am very privileged, as I indicated, to have known her, to have participated in a number of meetings. One of the other things that I realized, she didn't--as we used to say, there were no big Is and little yous. She saw everyone the same. It didn't matter whether you belonged to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or the Black Panther Party, or the Deacons for Defense and Justice. You still had room at the table under Mrs. Hamer's tutelage. Many of us are privileged to have known her in that way, and we try to pattern our lives after her. The National Council of Negro Women really worked very hard with Mrs. Hamer in producing affordable housing and to making sure that farmers cooperatives could be developed in the Mississippi Delta. Because as some would choose to forget, Mrs. Hamer was put off the plantation that she lived on because she was encouraging people to register and vote. But those were the times that we all lived in, and we saw it. When I ran for Congress, there were people who worked on farms who were required to work overtime so that they couldn't go to the polls before they closed. So there are a lot of things that we saw during Mrs. Hamer's time. The tricks are still being played. So it is in the spirit of Fannie Lou that we pay tribute tonight to her.…”