This post highlights a conversation between Dr. Keisha N. Blain and Rebecca Traister on Fannie Lou Hamer’s enduring legacy. Their discussion explores how Hamer’s insights on voting rights, poverty, and policing remain relevant for today’s social justice movements. The event draws from Blain’s book Until I Am Free, which examines Hamer as a working-poor Black woman activist whose message continues to resonate.

A blend of social commentary, biography, and intellectual history, Until I Am Free: Fannie Lou Hamer’s Enduring Message to America is a manifesto for anyone committed to social justice. The book challenges us to listen to a working-poor and disabled Black woman activist and intellectual of the civil rights movement as we grapple with contemporary concerns around race, inequality, and social justice.

Dr. Keisha N. Blain, Associate Professor of History at the University of Pittsburgh and author of Until I Am Free, in conversation with columnist and author Rebecca Traister, discuss how Fannie Lou Hamer’s views on women’s rights, poverty, voting rights, internationalism, and policing can guide activists today.

Watch the conversation:

• New-York Historical Society
• YouTube