By Veryl Victoria Miles | Catholic Standard

One of the most iconic images I see every February during Black History Month is that of civil rights activist Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer appearing before the Credentials Committee at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, New Jersey. She spoke on behalf of the all-Black Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party asking to be seated at the convention because Blacks had been excluded from the all-White Mississippi Democratic Party delegation. In her testimony she described the terrors, indignities and enduring threats of violence and death Black Mississippians experienced for simply wanting to vote. As she concluded her remarks, she asked the convention audience a poignant question, “Is this America, the land of the free, the home of the brave?”