Infuential Black activists inspire generations of activism

Hamer fought for her rights her whole life even when met with discrimination and violence.

Activism, throughout time, has inspired and motivated generations of people to take action against injustices and issues they feel are unfair.

One important Black activist in history, known as Fannie Lou Hamer, was born on Oct. 6 , 1917, in Montgomery County, Miss.

According to an article, titled “Fannie Lou Hamer” by history. com, Hamer decided to attend a protest for African Americans’ right to vote in 1962. This inspired her to join many committees, including the Democratic National Convention and the Mississippi

Freedom Democratic Party.

“Hamer dedicated her life to the fght for civil rights, working for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). This organization was composed mostly of African American students who engaged in acts of what was known as civil disobedience to fght racial segregation and injustice in the South. These acts often were met with violent responses by angry whites. During the course of her activist career, Hamer was threatened, arrested, beaten, and shot at. But none of these things ever deterred her from her work”

Oliver Warren, eighth grade History Dept. member, and adviser of the WHS NAACP chapter, supports Fannie Lou Hamer’s achievements in activism by saying: “Fannie Lou Hamer was an activist in Mississippi, and was part of the Democratic party for a long time, but others in the party were unwilling to seat her due to her race. She actually ended up starting her own caucus within the party because of this. She’s really one of those unsung heroes that hide in the background.”

Warren also notes James Baldwin, Stokley Carmichael, Fred Hapton and Martin Luther King as infuential Black activists.

Warren expressed that it is important to stand up to injustices.

“By default, many people do not like change. This is usually because a vast majority of people do not stand up or say anything about something that is unfair, because they like to be comfortable and don’t want to ‘rock the boat’ so to speak or lose something they love. That’s why I started activism in the frst place was because all I had was my voice as a citizen, and as a community member.”

Warren said he has been involved in activism since his junior year in college, has helped other local organizations, is the Secretary of the NAACP and is the adviser for the WHS chapter of the NAACP.

Wooster community hosts Black History Month activities

As Black History Month comes to an end, events hosted by organizations in the Wooster community to celebrate also come to a close.

Taking a look back on the month, organizations like the Wooster/ Orville NAACP, the College of Wooster, and the Wayne County Public Library hosted events for people in the community to celebrate Black History Month.

Lillian Evans, Director of Multicultural Afairs at the College of Wooster, shares some of the past and upcoming events the College of Wooster hosted.

“This year our theme is ‘each one teach one’ for Black History Month so we hosted a kickof event Feb. 1, and last week, we hosted a speaker who does mentoring for Black and brown students within STEM… we’re also having a speaker series, so we’re doing a faculty and staf panel about who was important to them in their journey in life. And, we are doing an alumni event for the last day of Black History Month,” Evans said.

Evans says the goal of these events is to talk about the importance of mentors, what it means to give back, and to get the Black community to understand that their stories are important and valuable.

Hayley Tracy-Bursley, assistant director at the Wayne County Public Library, explains how the Wooster branch of the Wayne County Public Library celebrates Black History Month.

“...the Celebrate Black Voices Reading Challenge is going on now through the end of February…

Participants that complete the challenge by reading three books win a prize. The Wooster branch also has a variety of displays celebrating black history and authors,” Tracy-Bursley said.

Tracy-Bursley says she hopes the Wayne County Public Library Black History Month programs provide opportunities for community members to learn about black history and black authors through reading.

Diferent from the College of Wooster and the Wayne County Public Library, the Wooster/ Orrville NAACP does not necessarily host events specifc to February for Black History Month, but rather hosts multiple events over the course of the year.

Oliver Warren, frst vice president of the Wooster/Orrville NAACP, says the organization will be hosting a few events within the next few months following their Martin

Luther King Day celebration.

“In two weeks [from Feb. 14], it’ll be the 1,000th day that the Black Lives Matter protesters have been on the square. So, we’re holding an event that day on the square to invite more people and things like that…In March, the Wayne County Historical Society is gonna let us do a museum-like display down there about the history of our group, but also about the history of people of color in Wayne County period,” Warren said.

Warren says the purpose of such events is to educate and activate the public and also said he hopes events like these inspire future generations to continue the work of those before them.

According to the Wooster/Orrville NAACP Facebook page, the 1,000 day of protests is on Feb. 25, from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on the Wooster square.