(Portion of each order will go to organizations supporting voting. Click here for information on voting.)
After receiving numerous positive responses, I was moved to support this year’s get out the vote efforts by share limited, numbered and signed images of the original piece, Fannie Lou Hamer.
Daughter of sharecroppers, one of 20 siblings, born Fannie Lou Townsend on October 6, 1917, In Ruleville, Mississippi, Fannie Lou became one of America’s indigenous leaders who fought for voting rights and a fighter of poverty. Hamer was introduced to politics in 1962 after being invited to her 1st SNCC meeting whereby she 1st learned that black people could register to vote…and, with their vote, they could vote people out of office. Her innate leadership was exhibited when upon a return trip fr/registering to vote, the bus that she was traveling on was stopped by a state highway patrolman for the absurd reason that the “school” bus was too “yellow”. The passengers were frightened, for they feared what could happen. Suddenly, the old spiritual, “this little light of mine, I’m going to let it shine”, began to belt fr/the throat of Mrs. Hamer, like velvety chocolate. It was like salve to the ears of her comrades.
At that time, Hamer and her family worked on the Marlow Plantation as sharecroppers. Word got back to Hamer’s plantation owner, D. Marlow, that she registered to vote and he asked her to withdraw her registration. She replied to him,
“Mr. Marlow, I didn’t register for you, I registered for myself.”