Fannie Lou Hamer’s America Nominated for 2023 NAMIC Vision Award
APRIL 26, 2023 - Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, a film about the Mississippi-sharecropper-turned-civil rights-activist has been nominated for a 2023 NAMIC Vision Award in the Documentary Category. Nominees were announced on April 18 and winners will be selected in May.
The National Association for Multi-ethnicity in Communications (NAMIC) is a non-profit organization that advocates for equity, and inclusion in the media and entertainment industry. For nearly three decades, NAMIC’s annual Vision Awards have brought recognition and honor to distinguished programming that reflects the diversity of the global viewing audience.
Fannie Lou Hamer’s America, which aired nationally on PBS and WORLD Channel in February 2022, is told entirely in Hamer’s voice – both spoken and sung. Known for her powerful speeches and impassioned pleas for equal rights, Hamer helped thousands to register to vote in Mississippi in the 1960s and 70s, and provided clothing, shelter, and food to many more through her Freedom Farm and pig bank.
The film allows Hamer to tell her own story by means of rare archival footage, most of which had not been seen in 50 years. After her powerful testimony at the Democratic National Convention in August 1964, Hamer became one of the most sought-after speakers of her time, which is reflected in the film through her numerous television interviews.
Fannie Lou Hamer died at the age of 59 on March 14, 1977 from breast cancer and the after effects of a vicious jailhouse beating at the hands of law enforcement officials in Winona, MS in June 1963.
Organizers said submissions for the 2023 NAMIC Vision Awards were meticulously reviewed by an esteemed panel of judges comprised of media and entertainment industry executives. Other nominees include ABC’s Abbott Elementary and black-ish. As well as shows from Disney, Paramount, HBO Max, Nickelodeon, CNN and the Food Network.
Fannie Lou Hamer’s America was directed by Joy Elaine Davenport and produced by Hamer’s niece, Monica Land. The lead researchers were Fannie Lou Hamer historians and authors Drs. Maegan Parker Brooks and Davis W. Houck. Chris Hastings of America ReFramed, Selena Lauterer of Artemis Independent and Land were executive producers on the film.
Fannie Lou Hamer’s America is streaming on PBS, iTunes, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV and Chromecast.