Teach & remember
News about Fannie Lou Hamer commemorations
Dated, sourced news about Fannie Lou Hamer honors and commemorations from 2024 to 2026, including the Medal of Freedom, new markers and birthday events.
In short
The biggest recent news was President Joe Biden's posthumous award of the Presidential Medal of Freedom to Fannie Lou Hamer on January 4, 2025, and her family's donation of the medal to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History that October. Other recent events include new Mississippi Freedom Trail markers in Winona (June 2024) and Atlantic City (August 2024), birthday celebrations in Ruleville and Jackson, and an August 2026 Atlantic City event marking 62 years since her visit.
2026
August 2026: Atlantic City marks 62 years since Hamer's visit. The Press of Atlantic City reported on August 23, 2026, on a celebration in the city honoring Hamer's 1964 appearance at the Democratic National Convention. The convention hall, now Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, has held a cast of the Ruleville statue since 2023, and a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker stands on the boardwalk.
Fall 2026: COFO center in Jackson closed for construction. Jackson State University's COFO Civil Rights Education Center, home of the Fannie Lou Hamer Institute @ COFO, posted that it would stay closed for the rest of the fall 2026 semester because of construction on John R. Lynch Street. Call the Margaret Walker Center before planning a visit.
2025
October 2025: Medal of Freedom donated to the state archives. WJTV reported on October 13, 2025, that Hamer's family had donated her Presidential Medal of Freedom to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, which said it would go on display at the Two Mississippi Museums in Jackson. The museums had just marked her 108th birthday on October 6.
October 4-5, 2025: 108th birthday celebration in Ruleville. The Enterprise-Tocsin of Indianola announced a free, two-day public celebration in Ruleville beginning with a birthday program on Saturday, October 4.
January 4, 2025: Presidential Medal of Freedom. President Joe Biden awarded the medal posthumously to Hamer at a White House ceremony, one of 19 recipients that day, theGrio reported.
2024
October 2024: 107th birthday events. WDAM announced a birthday celebration at the Gravesite Pavilion in Ruleville on October 5, and the Two Mississippi Museums hosted a talk by Charles McLaurin about his friend Hamer on Sunday, October 6.
August 2024: Atlantic City marker and convention tributes. On August 20 a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker honoring Hamer was unveiled on the Atlantic City boardwalk, the first on the trail outside Mississippi. At the Democratic National Convention in Chicago that month, speakers invoked her on the 60th anniversary of her testimony.
June 8, 2024: second Winona marker. A Mississippi Freedom Trail marker was dedicated at the site of Staley's Cafe in Winona, near where Hamer and others were arrested in 1963.
Why is this page called news.html?
An earlier site on this domain used the address for its own announcements, which are unrelated to us. Longer notes from our editors appear below under "From the notebook."
From the notebook
- Visiting Ruleville outside the October birthday eventsPractical notes for visiting the Fannie Lou Hamer sites in Ruleville in winter, spring or summer, when no commemorations are scheduled and you are on your own.
- Hamer's Medal of Freedom and where to see itWhat the 2025 Presidential Medal of Freedom recognized, why Hamer's family gave it to the Mississippi Department of Archives and History, and how to plan a visit.
Questions readers ask
How do you choose what goes on this page?
We list events reported by news organizations or announced by public institutions, with the date and the source. We do not list private fundraisers or events we cannot confirm.
Can I send you news?
Yes. Write to contact@fannielouhamer.info with a link to a published source. We add items after checking them.
Sources
- Biden awards Denzel Washington, Magic Johnson and Fannie Lou Hamer with Presidential Medal of FreedomtheGrio, January 4, 2025
- Fannie Lou Hamer's Presidential Medal of Freedom donated to MDAHWJTV via Yahoo News, October 13, 2025
- Fannie Lou Hamer's 108th birthday celebration set October 4-5The Enterprise-Tocsin, Indianola, September 30, 2025
- 62 years later, AC celebrates Hamer visitThe Press of Atlantic City, August 23, 2026 (via Ground News)
- Fannie Lou Hamer birthday celebrationTwo Mississippi Museums
- Fannie Lou Hamer honored at Democratic National Convention and with Ruleville cancer center nameWDAM, October 3, 2024
- Civil rights activist honored with new plaque in Atlantic CityNew Jersey Monitor, August 20, 2024
- COFO Civil Rights Education CenterJackson State University
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
- Teach & rememberCommemorationsHow Fannie Lou Hamer is commemorated, from birthday gatherings at her Ruleville grave to the 2017 centennial, Freedom Trail markers and 2024 anniversaries.
- Her lifeLegacy and honorsHow Fannie Lou Hamer is remembered, from the words on her headstone to the Voting Rights Act renewal, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and places named for her.
- Teach & rememberCalendar of datesAnniversaries from Fannie Lou Hamer's life and the Mississippi movement, month by month, for teachers, libraries and anyone planning a commemoration.
- MovementPresidents and HamerWhat U.S. presidents have said and done about Fannie Lou Hamer, from Johnson's 1964 press conference to Obama's Selma speech and Biden's 2025 Medal of Freedom.