Fannie Lou Townsend, known as Fannie Lou Hamer, was born on October 6, 1917, in Montgomery County, Mississippi. She began her life as a sharecropper's daughter and later became a women's and civil rights activist. Recordings of her singing have been issued posthumously in archival releases, including Songs My Mother Taught Me (2015), which compiles traditional spirituals and performances associated with her legacy. Throughout her career, Hamer was known for her resilience and dedication to civil rights, using her voice to inspire and mobilize others. She passed away on March 14, 1977, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. Posthumously, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom from then President Joe Biden on January 4, 2025.
