Bonnie Watson Coleman: “I want to thank my colleague and my friend, Mr. Bennie Thompson, for organizing this important Special Order hour…”

“I want to thank my colleague and my friend, Mr. Bennie Thompson, for organizing this important Special Order hour honoring his fellow Mississippian, Ms. Fannie Lou Hamer. Yesterday, Cosmopolitan published an article written by Zerlina Maxwell, aptly titled ``Trust Black Women.'' In the article, Maxwell, a fellow New Jerseyian, quoted her colleague, who said: ``Black women have been a part of every great movement that has happened in this country. We always show up.'' Tonight, we celebrate the birth of Fannie Lou Hamer, a black woman who, like many of us, always showed up. In 1964, Fannie Lou Hamer showed up at the Democratic National Convention to speak on behalf of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party and highlight the hurdles, both physical and political, that were preventing Blacks in the South from showing up at the ballot box. During her testimony, she recounted her 26-mile journey to Indianola, Mississippi, to register to vote at the county courthouse where seven other men and women were looking to do the same. On the way, they encountered coordinated opposition from local and State law enforcement and men and women who sought to deter them from exercising their right to vote. Upon returning home, Fannie Lou Hamer found that she had been fired from her job. According to The New York Times, she said: ``They kicked me off the plantation; they set me free. It is the best thing that could happen.…”