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The Fannie Lou Hamer Model

Happy 109th birthday, Mrs. Hamer. Thank you for showing me how to build.

Craft

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15

min read

A grassy clearing with tall wildflowers and birch trees beside a log cabin

She worked the ballot box and the barn at the same time. Fannie Lou Hamer registered to vote, ran for Congress and challenged the national convention, while she bought land, started a pig bank and fed families across Sunflower County. This is my tribute to the whole woman, and how Freedom Farm shaped every pillar of the Community Welfare System. Read the full essay on Substack: https://zuhdae.substack.com/p/the-fannie-lou-hamer-model

She got sick and tired and then bought forty acres.

Note 1

Freedom Farm Cooperative, Sunflower County, 1969.

Note 2

The pig bank started with 55 pigs in October 1967.

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Honored by and spoken at

  • Black Lives Matter Dreamers & Disruptors Award, 2026

  • Women's Foundation of Minnesota Rest Up Award, 2023

  • North American School for Organizers

  • Black Digital Renaissance

  • Black Lives Matter Dreamers & Disruptors Award, 2026

  • Women's Foundation of Minnesota Rest Up Award, 2023

  • North American School for Organizers

  • Black Digital Renaissance

The newsletter

Essays on building care that lasts.

Mutual aid, movement accountability and the Community Welfare System, sent to 4,300+ readers on Substack. Free to read, with paid essays for those who can support the work.

Zedé Harut

Strategist, writer and creator of the Community Welfare System. Building parallel systems of care in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Zedé

Zedé

© 2026 Zedé Harut. All rights reserved.

© 2026 Zedé Harut. All rights reserved.