Fannie Lou Hamer Digital Driving Tour: Tomnolen, Mississippi

For more photos and research information about where Fannie Lou Hamer was born, please visit: https://www.fannielouhamersamerica.co... Tomnolen, Mississippi is an important stop on the Fannie Lou Hamer Digital Driving Tour because it connects visitors to the earliest chapter of Hamer’s life. Although Hamer often identified Montgomery County as her birthplace, she testified under oath in a 1963 federal trial that she was born in unincorporated Tomnolen in Webster County, Mississippi. Montgomery County borders Webster County and is likely where her family received their mail since it was a much larger community. This, friends said is likely why the Townsends and Fannie Lou associated it with where they were from. This video invites viewers to consider the uncertainty and complexity of documenting Hamer’s early life, from her birth in 1917 to when she and her family left for the Delta in 1919, while honoring Tomnolen as part of the landscape that shaped her beginnings. From this rural community in north-central Mississippi to the cotton fields of the Delta, Hamer’s life would become a powerful testimony to endurance, faith, and the ongoing struggle for voting rights, economic justice, and human dignity. Look for more videos to post on our Fannie Lou Hamer Digital Driving Tour at: www.fannielouhamersamerica.com/driving-tour. Follow us on Facebook, X, Instagram and Linked In!