William Chapel Missionary Baptist Church Ruleville, MS

William Chapel Missionary Baptist Church, established in 1922, was a longtime meeting place for civil rights activists before the organization of the modern-day movement. And on August 27, 1962, Fannie Lou Hamer’s life changed forever. Invited by friend Mary Tucker to a civil rights meeting held at this small local church, Hamer was blown away by what she heard in the pulpit that day. For the first time, on her account, Hamer was introduced to the civil rights that she was entitled to—and she planned to redeem them, immediately! Four days later, along with 17 other people, Hamer traveled to the Sunflower County Courthouse in Indianola to try to register to vote.

When Fannie Lou Hamer died on March 14, 1977, her funeral service was held at William Chapel.

In 2018, a Mississippi Freedom Trail marker was placed in front of the church recognizing its historical significance.