MovementJuly 1971
Fannie Lou Hamer and the National Women's Political Caucus, 1971
How Fannie Lou Hamer joined Shirley Chisholm, Bella Abzug, Gloria Steinem and others to found the National Women's Political Caucus in Washington in July 1971.
In short
The National Women's Political Caucus was founded at a convention in Washington, D.C., on July 10-11, 1971, attended by about 324 women from 27 states and the District of Columbia. Its founders included Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan, Fannie Lou Hamer, LaDonna Harris, Mildred Jeffrey, Jill Ruckelshaus and Gloria Steinem. Hamer spoke there, arguing that the freedom of women, Black Americans and poor people was bound together.
- Founded
- July 10-11, 1971, Washington, D.C.
- Attendance
- About 324 women from 27 states and D.C.
- Founders
- Bella Abzug, Shirley Chisholm, Betty Friedan, Fannie Lou Hamer, LaDonna Harris, Mildred Jeffrey, Jill Ruckelshaus, Gloria Steinem
- Purpose
- More women in elected and appointed office
- 1972 goal
- Equal numbers of women in convention delegations
Why was the caucus founded?
In 1971 very few women held elected office, and organizers wanted a bipartisan group that would recruit, train and support women candidates. About 324 women from 27 states and the District of Columbia met in Washington on July 10 and 11, 1971. Gloria Steinem described the goal as getting women into positions of power.
How did Hamer take part?
She was one of the founders and spoke at the convention, telling delegates that the freedom of women could not be separated from the freedom of Black and poor people. Her line that nobody was free until everybody was free became one of her most quoted. Black women at the meeting, led by Shirley Chisholm and Vivian Mason, pushed the new caucus to adopt a stronger anti-racist position.
What did the caucus do next?
For the 1972 conventions it pressed both major parties to make their delegations at least half women, and although that goal was not reached, the number of women delegates rose sharply. Hamer was a delegate at the 1972 Democratic convention herself. The caucus also supported the Equal Rights Amendment.
How did this fit Hamer's other work in 1971?
The same year she ran for the Mississippi State Senate, with a platform on welfare, voting, schools and taxes. See her 1971 campaign. For her earlier convention work, see the 1968 convention.
Questions readers ask
What did Fannie Lou Hamer say at the founding of the National Women's Political Caucus?
She told the convention that nobody was free until everybody was free, linking women's political power to the freedom of Black and poor Americans. The speech is in The Speeches of Fannie Lou Hamer (2011).
Why is this page called kibbee.html?
The address was used by an earlier site on this domain for a page about a person we could not identify from public sources, so we do not profile anyone here. We used it for an important part of Hamer's later life.
Sources
- National Women's Political CaucusWikipedia (founding details)
- Black History Is NWPC HistoryNational Women's Political Caucus
- The Speeches of Fannie Lou Hamer: To Tell It Like It IsUniversity Press of Mississippi, 2011
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
- Her lifeFull biographyThe full life of Fannie Lou Hamer (1917-1977), from Sunflower County cotton fields to SNCC, the Freedom Democrats, Atlantic City and the Freedom Farm.
- Her life1971 state senate raceWhy Fannie Lou Hamer ran for the Mississippi State Senate in 1971, what her platform proposed on welfare, voting, schools and taxes, and what the race showed.
- MovementThe 1968 conventionHow an integrated Mississippi delegation, including Fannie Lou Hamer, was seated at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago in place of the regulars.
- PeopleWomen of the movementFannie Lou Hamer was one of many women who led the Mississippi movement. Meet Annie Devine, Victoria Gray, Unita Blackwell, Ella Baker, June Johnson and others.