Many men find strong women intimidating. Why? Because men living in a patriarchal society have grown up as the privileged gender. If men feel intimidated by women, it’s simply because they’re insecure about their own masculinity. That’s why men don’t want their attempts to dominate to be questioned. Unable to deal with the confrontation, they often become violent. How many women have been murdered by a man who once told them “I love you”?
Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977) was an activist and community organizer. She fought for women’s rights as well as for the rights of Blacks to vote. Born in Mississippi, Fannie gave flavor to her political speeches with quotes from the Bible just to let everyone know that God was on her side.
Fannie did her best to help Black American citizens register to vote. For this, she was harassed and her life threatened. And, after she herself attempted to vote, Fannie was fired from her job and shot at by racists. But she survived.
In 1963, Fannie was with a group of Blacks returning to Mississippi after participating in a South Carolina voter registration workshop. They stopped at a café but were refused service. The police came and arrested the rejected customers. Once in jail, they were beaten with clubs. Fannie was also groped and her dress pulled up to expose her body. Men in the room sneered and rejoiced in trying to humiliate her.
Fannie never fully recovered from the beating but she still insisted on organizing even more voter registration drives. She would not let herself be intimidated. But the stress finally caught up with her. In 1977, Fannie died of hypertension and breast cancer. She was only 59 years old.
“Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” Fannie Lou Hamer
Related:
Eudora Welty (1909-2001) (re: Medgar Evers) +
