The woman a President tried to silence + what it means for your work
Love your enemies, do good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. (Luke 6:27-28)
I’ve never met a white friend who knows Fannie Lou Hamer’s story. And I’ve never met a black friend who doesn’t. Over the next four weeks, we’ll study how this remarkable sharecropper-turned-activist followed Jesus in her work and extract lessons for our own jobs today. Let’s begin by parachuting into one of the most dramatic scenes of her life.
Election Day 1964 was three months away, but President Lyndon B. Johnson wasn’t worried about his Republican opponent. The greatest threat to his presidency was Fannie Lou Hamer testifying at the Democratic National Convention, AKA the DNC.
For weeks, Johnson did everything he could to stop her. He had the FBI tap her phones and pressured DNC leaders behind the scenes. But it was no use. On August 22, the DNC decided America needed to hear Hamer’s testimony.
At 3:00 p.m., Hamer took the stand, and the nation tuned in ...
