Fannie Lou Hamer K-12 Curriculum Honored with Prestigious 2026 Leslie Dennis Heart for Diversity Award

Recognizing Excellence in Promoting Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in Education

COLUMBIA, South Carolina – March 16, 2026 - The innovative Fannie Lou Hamer K-12 Educational Curriculum, Find Your Voice, has been awarded the 2026 Leslie Dennis Heart for Diversity Award. This distinguished honor highlights the curriculum’s commitment to empowering students with knowledge about civil rights, social justice, and the enduring legacy of activist and humanitarian Fannie Lou Hamer.  

The Southern Interscholastic Press Association (SIPA) also recognized the digital Fannie Lou Hamer Educational Resource Center and the film, “Fannie Lou Hamer’s America” which tells the story of the Mississippi sharecropper turned human rights activist in her own words. Hamer led grassroots voting rights efforts in Mississippi, among other initiatives, and testified about the racism that had defined hers and many other lives of her time. 

The Leslie Dennis Heart for Diversity Award, named for a previous SIPA director, is presented to an individual or organization that has demonstrated an ongoing commitment to promoting diversity, inclusivity and multicultural awareness through scholastic media.

The scholars associated with the film, Dr. Maegan Parker Brooks and Dr. Davis W. Houck created a comprehensive national “Find Your Voice” K-12 curriculum based on Hamer’s life and work. ‍

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Curriculum Developers: (From left to right: Dr. Davis W. Houck, Educators: Valerie Fairley, R.J. Morgan, Brenda Kirkham, Alicia Ervin-Rawls, Latasha Rodgers, Danielle Creel Martin, and Dr. Maegan Parker Brooks)

“The curriculum grew directly out of conversations with public school teachers in the Mississippi Delta and in the Oregon community where I live,” Brooks said. “Learning directly from students and educators about what content and media would be most useful and meaningful, the Find Your Voice team collaboratively crafted lesson plans and supporting materials that can be adapted to classrooms throughout the country--and the globe.” 

The curriculum includes lesson plans, a children’s book, an animated movie, a driving tour, a continual educational resource of Hamer-related materials and a summer STEM camp - the Sunflower County Film Academy - for high school students in the Mississippi Delta.

“The overarching purpose of the Find Your Voice curriculum is to facilitate education about Fannie Lou Hamer's historical significance and her contemporary relevance in a way that empowers all students to imagine how they might creatively contribute to the ongoing struggle for human rights,” Brooks added. 

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Dr. Maegan Parker Brooks and Dr. Davis Houck at the unveiling of the Fannie Lou Hamer statue in Ruleville, MS in October 2012, with their new book, To Tell It Like It Is: The Speeches Of Fannie Lou Hamer.

“And thanks to generous support for our work, we are able to provide free access to all of the lesson plans and supporting materials through the Fannie Lou Hamer's America website."

Brooks and Houck worked with a dedicated team of educators and scholars from Hamer’s beloved and native Mississippi Delta to create the curriculum.

Mississippi Scholastic Press Association director R.J. Morgan, Ph.D., MJE, an instructional associate professor at the University of Mississippi’s School of Journalism and New Media, contributed to the curriculum and nominated the project for the Dennis award.

Morgan noted that the film camp educates young people about their rights and trains teenagers to write, produce and direct short videos, offering this training to students in areas where their local school may not have the resources to do so.

“Fannie Lou Hamer was the living embodiment of the First Amendment,” Morgan said, noting that Find Your Voice continues that work. “This is what investing in the next generation of Southern Storytelling looks like.”

SIPA is a more than 100-year-old regional scholastic journalism association serving middle and high schools in the Southeast. SIPA is housed at the University of South Carolina’s College of Information and Communications. 

The Dennis Awards were presented on March 7 during the organization’s annual convention in Columbia, South Carolina. Brooks prepared a video statement for the ceremony and the award was accepted by Morgan.