An independent, non-commercial educational archiveNo donations ยท Nothing for sale

Teach & remember

Honors Fannie Lou Hamer received, in life and after

The honorary degrees, awards and national recognitions Fannie Lou Hamer received during her lifetime and the major honors given after her death, through 2025.

By the FLH Info Editorial Team · Updated · 2 min read

In short

During her lifetime Fannie Lou Hamer received honorary degrees from Shaw University, Columbia College Chicago (1970) and Howard University (1972), and awards from Black women's organizations, including Delta Sigma Theta's Mary Church Terrell Award. Ruleville Central High School held a Fannie Lou Hamer Day in 1970 and the town of Ruleville in 1976. After her death came the National Women's Hall of Fame (1993), a post office in her name (1994) and the Presidential Medal of Freedom (2025).

Honorary degrees
Shaw University; Columbia College Chicago (1970); Howard University (1972)
Awards in life
Mary Church Terrell Award (Delta Sigma Theta); Paul Robeson Award (Alpha Kappa Alpha); National Sojourner Truth Meritorious Service Award
Local days
Ruleville Central High School (1970); Town of Ruleville (1976)
After death
National Women's Hall of Fame (1993); Presidential Medal of Freedom (2025)
Lawn, flowering shrubs and a curved concrete walk at the Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden in Ruleville, with headstones and a water tower in the background
The Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden in Ruleville, Mississippi, photographed in July 2008. Photo: Steve Bott from Los Angeles, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

What honors did she receive while she was alive?

In the late 1960s and 1970s, colleges and national Black organizations recognized her work. Shaw University in Raleigh, the school where SNCC was founded, gave her an honorary doctor of laws. Columbia College Chicago gave her an honorary degree in 1970 and Howard University in 1972. Published accounts also list the Mary Church Terrell Award from Delta Sigma Theta sorority, the Paul Robeson Award from Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority and the National Sojourner Truth Meritorious Service Award.

At home, Ruleville Central High School held a Fannie Lou Hamer Day in 1970, and the town of Ruleville held one in 1976, the year before she died. The local marker on Byron Street also notes that she was named to the board of trustees of the Martin Luther King Jr. Center for Nonviolent Social Change in 1974.

What honors came after her death?

The largest came decades later.

Year Honor
1993 National Women's Hall of Fame, Seneca Falls, New York
1994 Ruleville post office renamed for her by act of Congress
2006 Voting Rights Act renewal named for Hamer, Rosa Parks and Coretta Scott King
2012 Bronze statue dedicated in Ruleville
2025 Presidential Medal of Freedom, January 4

For namesakes such as schools and centers, see her legacy. For awards other organizations give in her name, see awards named for Hamer.

Why is this page called had_awards.html?

An earlier site on this domain used the address for an awards program of its own. That program is unrelated to us. We kept the address so links still work and used it for the honors Hamer herself received.

Questions readers ask

What was the highest honor Fannie Lou Hamer received?

The Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, awarded posthumously by President Joe Biden on January 4, 2025.

Did Fannie Lou Hamer receive honorary doctorates?

Yes. Published accounts list honorary degrees from Shaw University, Columbia College Chicago in 1970 and Howard University in 1972.

Sources

  1. Fannie Lou HamerWikipedia (compiled list of honors, checked against other sources where possible)
  2. Fannie Lou HamerMississippi Encyclopedia
  3. Documents mentioning "Fannie Lou Hamer"The American Presidency Project, UC Santa Barbara

We checked every date and name on this page against the sources above. If you find an error, write to contact@fannielouhamer.info.

Continue in the archive