Never to forget where we came from and always praise the bridges that carried us over.
Fannie Lou HamerRead
It was the 31st of August in 1962 that eighteen of us traveled twenty-six miles to the county courthouse in Indianola to try to register to become first-class citizens. We was met in Indianola by policemen, Highway Patrolmen, and they only allowed two of us in to take the literacy test at the time.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects the struggle for civil rights and the determination to achieve equality.
Fannie Lou Hamer's quote captures the essence of the fight for civil rights in America, specifically highlighting the challenges faced by African Americans in their pursuit of voting rights. The journey to register for the ability to participate fully as citizens underscores the systemic barriers imposed on them, and reveals the courage and resilience of those who dared to challenge injustice despite facing oppression, discrimination, and violence.
Themes
Civil RightsEqualityCourageStruggleVotingJustice
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in a speech advocating for equal voting rights.
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People have got to get together and work together. I'm tired of the kind of oppression that white people have inflicted on us and are still trying to inflict.
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One day, I know the struggle will change. There's got to be a change - not only for Mississippi, not only for the people in the United States, but people all over the world.
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Is this America, the land of the free and the home of the brave, where we have to sleep with our telephones off the hooks because our lives be threatened daily, because we want to live as decent human beings in America?
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I was forced away from the plantation because I wouldn't go back and withdraw, you know, my literacy test after I had tried to take it. I wouldn't go back.
Fannie Lou HamerRead
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