Today marks 108 years since the birth of the unrelenting civil rights organizer Fannie Lou Hamer. From prayer to song, to economic security, Hamer knew that victories in the movement for racial and gender justice could not happen in a vacuum. To her work, she brought her faith, cutting political analysis, unfailing determination, and an eye on the long ark of history. Today, we honor that tradition.
Preview of “None Of Us Are Free” by Arnaé Batson inspired by the words of Fannie Lou Hamer. Recorded at the Songs in the Key of Resistance September 2025 Cultural Arts Retreat. Stay tuned for the full release!
Fannie Lou Hamer understood the role faith and culture in organizing generally, and in poor people’s organizing specifically. She embodied the idea that political and economic rights were inseparable.
Join us in celebrating Fannie Lou Hamer’s legacy, and let this song remind us of the ongoing work of organizing for a just and moral society. #WeSingFreedom
Songs in the Key of Resistance is a movement music project of the Kairos Center. The September 2025 retreat at Bethany Arts Community was co-convened by the Kairos Center and the New York State PPC Media Team. The weekend retreat brought together for the third year a growing national network of culture workers representing Highlander Research Center, Black Youth Project 100, the SSSing Network, Jewish Voice for Peace, Domestic Workers United, as well as independent artists from around the New York City region. The aim of the convening was to forge new cultural tools for movement organizers in this critical period of struggle. Particular attention was given to how we can frame our cultural work through developing new kinds of ritual practices. The Kairos Center offered powerful resources drawn from the new book We Pray Freedom, with several contributors to this important new volume in attendance for the retreat. While the weekend was joy-filled, tears were also held in the space as everyone sang and played from the depths of human suffering that we are witnessing today.
Below are a few of our favorite resources highlighting these core values of hers.
Fannie Lou Hamer Resources
Reading the Bible with the Poor
“Sometimes it seems like to tell the truth today is to run the risk of being killed. But if I fall, I’ll fall five feet four inches forward in the fight for freedom. I’m not backing off.”
Cultural and faith-based organizing
“I don’t really know where Mrs. Hamer is standing, but she is standing there solidly, feet planted firmly apart…she can sing with us over the distance, and from her vantage point she can see us all.”
Poor People’s Organizing
“To have a great country, not only will we have to have political power, but we will have to have economic power as well.”
Nobody’s Free Until Everybody’s Free
Fannie Lou Hamer said, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free” during a speech she delivered at the founding of the National Women’s Political Caucus in Washington, D.C., on July 10, 1971.