Funeral program for Fannie Lou Hamer: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A funeral program for Fannie Lou Hamer. The program is printed in black text on two sheets of white paper folded to create four interior pages. The front cover prominently features a black-and-white photograph of Hamer with text above and below, centered inside a thin, black frame. She is depicted from the shoulders up, facing the viewer. The text above the portrait reads [OBSEQUIES]. The text below reads, [Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer / Sunday, March 20, 1977 / FUNERAL SERVICES 2:00 P. M. / Williams Chapel Baptist Church / RULEVILLE, MISSISSIPPI / MEMORIAN SERVICE 3:30 P. M. / Ruleville Central High School]. Page one features a program of speakers and performers for Sunday, March 20, 1977 at 2:00pm. Pages two and three include a biography for Hamer, a history of her Civil Rights advocacy, her attempts to run for Congress, and her awards and degrees from various universities. Page four is a program of speakers and performers for Sunday, March 20, 1977 at 3:30pm. Printed on the inside of the back cover is a list of flowerbearers, active pallbearers, and honorary pallbearers. The list of honorary pallbearers continues on the back side of the back cover.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: March 20, 1977
• Printed by: Unidentified
• Subject of: Fannie Lou Hamer, American, 1917 - 1977
• Subject of: Reverend Solomon Gort Jr., American, 1936 - 1989
• Subject of: Stokely Carmichael, Trinidadian American, 1941 - 1998
• Subject of: Rev. Ralph Edwin King Jr., American, born 1936
• Subject of: Dorothy Height, American, 1912 - 2010
• Subject of: Aaron Henry, American, 1922 - 1997
• Subject of: Rev. Lucius Walker, American, 1930 - 2010
• Type: souvenir programs
• Medium: ink on paper (fiber product)
• Dimensions: H x W: 11 × 8 1/2 in. (27.9 × 21.6 cm)
• Place used: Ruleville, Sunflower County, Mississippi, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Activism
• Topic: Civil Rights
• Topic: Funeral customs and rites
• Topic: Gospel (Music)
• Topic: Politics
• Topic: Religion
• Topic: Social reform
• Object number: 2019.110
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Ms. Eddie Lee Bibbs of Cleveland, MS.
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The displayed image also has an explicit CC0 designation. The underlying object's rights statement is: Public Domain Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.