Political Quotes

“I would also like to say to the gentlewoman that that 1964 Atlantic City Democratic National Convention set the tone for opening up the Democratic Party to people of all races and colors because Mrs. Hamer challenged the all-White makeup of the Mississippi delegation by saying Black people couldn't participate. They were systematically excluded from the selection process, and she appealed to that convention to do better. I am happy, as you know, to report that the convention heard Mrs. Hamer and decided that an all-White delegation from the State with the highest percentage of African Americans in the country could not be justified. So the delegation was not only integrated at the convention, but, for a time, we shared the chairmanships of the party. We had a co- chair that was White and a co-chair that was African American. So Mrs. Hamer's spirit still lives on. One of the real issues that really touches most of our hearts is that she was a very humble person. She had the kind of spirit in her delivery that you just had to pay attention to. She had the aura when she walked in a room that whatever you were doing, you had to stop and pay attention to this very simple person who came in. But every time she opened her mouth, something very prophetic would come out.…”