The Social Gospel Devo, Day 2: Fannie Lou Hamer
Day 2: Fannie Lou Hamer
Scripture: Luke 4:18–19 ESV
Born Fannie Lou Townsend in Montgomery County, Mississippi, she was not unaware of or new to the injustices that existed against Black people. This led to Hamer’s work as a women’s and civil rights activist, community organizer, and co-founder and vice-chair of the Freedom Democratic Party.
In her famous speech, where the earlier mentioned quote is pulled from, Sick and Tired, Hamer shares in detail the wrongdoings and racist behavior toward Black people in the South, specifically Mississippi.
Through all that Fannie Lou Hamer endured and witnessed, Luke 4:18–19 served as her key verses.
In the Gospel of Luke, we learn that Jesus begins his public ministry and is rejected because of it. In Luke 4:18–19, he stands up to say that he is anointed to proclaim the good news and set the oppressed free. In this chapter, we see Jesus’s life in snippets, even him being rejected in Nazareth, the place he was born in verse 22, and again in verses 28–30.
Even still, Jesus never stopped working toward fulfilling the message of spreading the good news and setting the oppressed free.
Fannie Lou Hamer has a known quote where she says, “Nobody’s free until everybody’s free.” She also said, “When I liberate myself, I liberate others. If you don’t speak out, ain’t nobody going to speak out for you.”
Like Christ, Hamer believed in the mission she was set to do here on Earth. She knew that the change she wanted to see began with her, even in the face of ridicule and rejection.
Reflection Questions:
- In reading Luke 4, what are some of the things that stand out to you?
- Has there been a time when you have been ridiculed or rejected for the beliefs that you held? How was it handled?
- In reading Hamer’s quote, “When I liberate myself, I liberate others. If you don’t speak out ain’t nobody going to speak out for you,” what are some things that you think of? How do they apply in your life?
Read Day 3 of The Social Gospel devotional featuring Shirley Chisholm.
Thank you for reading our social gospel devotional. If you would like to engage more with the idea of The Social Gospel, please visit our YouTube channel for our current sermon series and docu-sermon on the topic.
