(JACKSON, Miss.) - The United States Postal Services unveiled two of its newest civil rights commemorative stamps at Jackson State University's Jacob Reddix Center on Feb. 26. Mississippians Fannie Lou Hamer and Medgar Evers were among the 12 pioneers honored during the service's tribute to the NAACPs 100th anniversary.
Evers, an active member and leader of the state's NAACP office, was assassinated at his Jackson home in 1963. Hamer, a sharecropper who fought for black voting rights, is often remembered for her famous quote: "I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired."
Dozens of family members, friends and former participants in the civil rights movement attended the unveiling.
"I never thought in a million years that Fannie Lou Hamer would be on a postage stamp," said Virgie Faulkner, Hamer's daughter.
Evers' brother, Charles, agreed.
"There has been a lot of suffering, but it paid off," Evers said. "It wasnt easy."
Presiding over the unveiling, Jackson State professor Leslie Burl McLemore said that the legacy of Hamer and Evers lives on.
"The civil rights movement is alive," said McLemore, director of the Fannie Lou Hamer National Institute on Citizenship and Democracy. "Social justice is an ongoing enterprise. Our new president is standing on the shoulders of Hamer, Evers and all of the people in this room who made a difference."
To view Governor Haley Barbour's proclamation from the state of Mississippi, click the following link: http://www.jsums.edu/announcements/3.1.09HamerEversStampProclamationState.pdf
To view Jackson Mayor Frank Melton's proclamation from the City of Jackson, click the following link: http://www.jsums.edu/announcements/3.1.09HamerEversStampProclamationCity.pdf - JSU -
About Jackson State University: Challenging Minds, Changing Lives Jackson State University, founded in 1877, is a historically black, high research activity university located in Jackson, the capital city of the state of Mississippi. Jackson State's nurturing academic environment challenges individuals to change lives through teaching, research and service. Officially designated as Mississippi's Urban University, Jackson State continues to enhance the state, nation and world through comprehensive economic development, health-care, technological and educational initiatives. The only university in the Jackson metropolitan area, Jackson State is located near downtown, with three satellite campuses throughout the city. For more information, visit www.jsums.edu.
