Students, researchers and tourists have a new tool to learn more about the Mississippi-sharecropper-turned-civil-rights-activist Fannie Lou Hamer with the relaunch of her digital driving tour.  The refreshed tour builds on the award-winning educational project Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, whic h includes the nationally broadcast documentary, a K–12 curriculum and digital resources dedicated to preserving and amplifying Hamer’s voice.  The driving tour, originally developed as part of the “Find Your Voice” curriculum, features locations connected to Hamer’s life and activism, including sites in Ruleville, Sunflower County and Winona that help tell the story of her leadership in the civil rights movement. The M.W. Stringer Lodge in Jackson where Hamer and several others founded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party in April 1964 was added to the upgraded tour. The tour now also has short videos with archival audio footage of Hamer singing or talking about each location, current footage of the site, and archival news articles and photos.   Funded by the Mississippi Humanities Council and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, the digital tour  with immersive views is designed to make Hamer’s story more accessible for classrooms, cultural heritage travelers and anyone seeking a deeper understanding of Mississippi’s role in the Civil Rights Movement. Visitors can explore historic locations, learn the significance of each site and connect Hamer’s grassroots organizing to broader themes of voting rights, civic participation, education, food justice and community empowerment. Fannie Lou Hamer testifies before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention. Credit: Courtesy: Library of Congress (Warren K. Leffler, photographer) “Mrs. Hamer’s story personifies the Mississippi Freedom Movement – how local people inspired and partnered with young activists to change the state and the country,” Stuart Rockoff, executive director of the Mississippi Humanities Council, said in a news release. “This driving tour will help people from across Mississippi and the world understand the vital role Mrs. Hamer played in the movement and her continuing relevance to the issues of justice we still face today.” The original driving tour, which included site descriptions, photos and a map of 10 relevant locations in Hamer’s life, launched online in August 2019. Fannie Lou Hamer historian and author Davis Houck and Pablo Correa designed the tour. Houck was a consultant on the film, and Correa was a videographer.  Joy Davenport, the film’s editor and director, had the vision for the new driving tour that features the same 10 locations, such as William Chapel Church in Ruleville where Hamer attended her first mass meeting, the Sunflower County Courthouse in Indianola, where she tried to register to vote, and the Winona jail site where she and several others were beaten.  “There was so much we couldn’t show in the film due to time and cost,” Monica Land, Hamer’s niece and producer of the film and the driving tour, said in the news release. “So, the motivation for doing this was to see another aspect of Aunt Fannie Lou’s life explored. And we’re asked all the time, ‘Where is Fannie Lou Hamer buried?’ ‘Is there a statue of her?’ ‘Is there a museum?’ By expanding the reach of the driving tour, we allow visitors to hear Aunt Fannie Lou herself describe what happened at that location. And for those who can’t visit in person, this tour makes them feel as if they were. It preserves those places as living classrooms.”  Archival footage for the new driving tour was taken from the film with current locations shot by Jackson-based videographer and editor Tommy Kirkpatrick of CommonHouse Productions.   The last video to be released, Atlantic City, is the only out of state location and is where Hamer gave her historic and emotional testimony before the Credentials Committee at the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 22, 1964. That video will post Friday to commemorate that event. Visit Atlantic City funded the video, and New Jersey-based videographer Pernell Pounce captured the footage.  The driving tour is available on the film’s website, fannielouhamersamerica.com with maps and tourist information, and  YouTube channel.  ...read more read less