How Fannie Lou Hamer’s 1964 DNC Speech Paved the Way for Kamala Harris

This year’s Democratic National Convention in Chicago is a historic moment as Vice President Kamala Harris becomes the Democratic presidential nominee. Harris’ ascent to this position — as the first Black and Asian woman to lead a major political party ticket — would not be possible were it not for the decades-long efforts of Black women activists to assert their political agency even in the most difficult spaces.

The political efforts of civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer are a case in point.