Women Who Built the Delta

Audio Guide

You are at the Fannie Lou Hamer stop in Ruleville, Mississippi. A sharecropper who was evicted for trying to register to vote, Hamer became one of the most powerful grassroots voices of the civil rights movement — organizing Black voters, co-founding the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and later building the Freedom Farm Cooperative. Her story ties voting rights, farming, and political power together in the Mississippi Delta. Fannie Lou Hamer was a sharecropper who became one of the most important grassroots voices of the civil rights movement. She helped organize Black voters, co-founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, and later created the Freedom Farm Cooperative as an economic response to poverty and land insecurity. Her story connects voting rights, farming, poverty, food, political power, and the Mississippi Delta itself. WHEN YOU REACH YOUR DESTINATION, WATCH THE VIDEO BELOW AND ENJOY THE RICH HISTORY OF THE WOMEN WHO BUILT THE DELTA TOUR - HELENA, ARKANSAS.