Disclaimer: THE ROAR FOUNDATION, INC. provides information on this web site for
educational/informational and networking purposes only! Use of any copyrighted materials must
be approved by its owner. ROAR claims no responsibility for misuse of information obtained on
this web site.
Disclaimer: THE ROAR FOUNDATION, INC. provides information on this web site for
educational/informational and networking purposes only! Use of any copyrighted materials must
be approved by its owner. ROAR claims no responsibility for misuse of information obtained on
this web site.
(c) copyrighted THE ROAR FOUNDATION, INC. January 2007
Last Modified June 2007
educational/informational and networking purposes only! Use of any copyrighted materials must
be approved by its owner. ROAR claims no responsibility for misuse of information obtained on
this web site.
Disclaimer: THE ROAR FOUNDATION, INC. provides information on this web site for
educational/informational and networking purposes only! Use of any copyrighted materials must
be approved by its owner. ROAR claims no responsibility for misuse of information obtained on
this web site.
(c) copyrighted THE ROAR FOUNDATION, INC. January 2007
Last Modified June 2007
Few people would argue against the notion that Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer spoke
truth to power and led the way by example in how to take a stand and become a
man (or woman) in the face of constant death threats as retaliation for choices
made on the road to freedom.
One such man in the making due to Hamer’s courage was Mr. Charles
McLaurin. McLaurin was a close friend and Campaign Manager of Fannie Lou
Hamer. And he is the best living source on how Mrs. Hamer became who she
was and how she transformed politics from a small rural town called Ruleville,
Mississippi.
Charles McLaurin was recruited into the civil rights movement by Mr. Lawrence
Guyot on the campus of Jackson State University when Guyot invited him and
several other young men to come to the Masonic Temple to hear Medgar Evers
and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak.
Arrested over thirty times for his involvement in the movement, McLaurin is
still active in the movement. But this leg of his life finds him in demand to
guide tours throughout the Mississippi Delta on the civil rights trail. He is
actively involved with Sunflower County Civil Rights Movement Veterans,
ROAR, other community organizations, individuals and institutions on the
importance of uplifting and shining a light on the legacy of his good friend,
Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer AND Amzie Moore.
As a member of SNCC, McLaurin and five others were sent to Ruleville, MS to
begin a voter registration drive. He hadn’t heard of Fannie Lou Hamer at that
time. During an interview with Delta Business Journal, McLaurin recalls
meeting Mrs. Hamer for the first time: “I was surprised. Here was this fairly
quiet unassuming black woman with little education who had a courage and
conviction that she was doing the right thing by registering to vote and
helping others to register". "She never backed down.”
It was McLaurin who SNCC sent to Cascilla, MS to retrieve Mrs. Hamer and
bring her back to the Mississippi Delta. Fannie Lou was in Cascilla, Mississippi
because she was forced to quit her sharecropping job and had no place to stay
after she refused to withdraw her name from the list of those trying to register.
Charles McLaurin is available for speaking engagements and tour guides on
the Mississippi Civil Rights Trail.
truth to power and led the way by example in how to take a stand and become a
man (or woman) in the face of constant death threats as retaliation for choices
made on the road to freedom.
One such man in the making due to Hamer’s courage was Mr. Charles
McLaurin. McLaurin was a close friend and Campaign Manager of Fannie Lou
Hamer. And he is the best living source on how Mrs. Hamer became who she
was and how she transformed politics from a small rural town called Ruleville,
Mississippi.
Charles McLaurin was recruited into the civil rights movement by Mr. Lawrence
Guyot on the campus of Jackson State University when Guyot invited him and
several other young men to come to the Masonic Temple to hear Medgar Evers
and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak.
Arrested over thirty times for his involvement in the movement, McLaurin is
still active in the movement. But this leg of his life finds him in demand to
guide tours throughout the Mississippi Delta on the civil rights trail. He is
actively involved with Sunflower County Civil Rights Movement Veterans,
ROAR, other community organizations, individuals and institutions on the
importance of uplifting and shining a light on the legacy of his good friend,
Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer AND Amzie Moore.
As a member of SNCC, McLaurin and five others were sent to Ruleville, MS to
begin a voter registration drive. He hadn’t heard of Fannie Lou Hamer at that
time. During an interview with Delta Business Journal, McLaurin recalls
meeting Mrs. Hamer for the first time: “I was surprised. Here was this fairly
quiet unassuming black woman with little education who had a courage and
conviction that she was doing the right thing by registering to vote and
helping others to register". "She never backed down.”
It was McLaurin who SNCC sent to Cascilla, MS to retrieve Mrs. Hamer and
bring her back to the Mississippi Delta. Fannie Lou was in Cascilla, Mississippi
because she was forced to quit her sharecropping job and had no place to stay
after she refused to withdraw her name from the list of those trying to register.
Charles McLaurin is available for speaking engagements and tour guides on
the Mississippi Civil Rights Trail.
Mr. Charles McLaurin takes notes of plans
of new developments underway at The
Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden under
the leadership of Alderwoman Hattie Jordan.
of new developments underway at The
Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden under
the leadership of Alderwoman Hattie Jordan.
| Charles McLaurin, close friend and Campaign Manager of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer, (right) leads crowd to Hamer grave to lay a wreath as part of the 30th Anniversary Commemoration Celebration of Hamer's home-going on March 3, 2007. The event was sponsored by The Fannie Lou Hamer Legacy Committe, an initiative of ROAR. |
| Charles McLaurin (center) helps break ground at The Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Garden. Left is Lawrence Guyot (MFDP) and right is Rev. Ed King (MFDP) October 2, 2004 |
| Charles McLaurin |
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PHOTO COPYRIGHTS
BY DAVID RUSHING
BY DAVID RUSHING
Mr. Charles McLaurin points to himself in a
picture from the 1960's on exhibit by Tracy
Sugarman at a library in Sunflower County, MS
picture from the 1960's on exhibit by Tracy
Sugarman at a library in Sunflower County, MS
| PHOTO COPYRIGHTS BY DAVID RUSHING |
| Mr. McLaurin addresses students at Indianola Gentry High School during ROAR'S Educational Is Essential" Day October 2004 |
Friends of Charles McLaurin paid
tribute to him in December 2005
calling him Justice's Foot Soldier.
Dr. Stacy White organized the event.
tribute to him in December 2005
calling him Justice's Foot Soldier.
Dr. Stacy White organized the event.
McLaurin facilitates a workshop at Hamer Multi-purpose Building in Ruleville, MS for The Fannie
Lou Hamer Exhibition during the 30th Anniversary Celebration on Friday, March 2, 2007.
Lou Hamer Exhibition during the 30th Anniversary Celebration on Friday, March 2, 2007.
McLaurin explains to audience at William Chapel the role of then Pastor, Rev. J. D.
Story while The Story Family looks on as does Dr. Leslie McLemore. The late Rev.
Story & William Chapel was honored and celebrated for their role in the Mississippi
Civil Rights Movement on Friday, March 2, 2007 as part of the 30th Anniversary
Commemoration Celebration of the Home-going of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer.
Story while The Story Family looks on as does Dr. Leslie McLemore. The late Rev.
Story & William Chapel was honored and celebrated for their role in the Mississippi
Civil Rights Movement on Friday, March 2, 2007 as part of the 30th Anniversary
Commemoration Celebration of the Home-going of Mrs. Fannie Lou Hamer.
| You will find details about the role Charles McLaurin played in the Civil Rights Movement in this book. |
| Mr. Charles McLaurin poses with some of the youth from The Fannie Lou Hamer Cultural Center afterThe Charles McLaurin Workshop in October 2006. The workshop was co-sponsored by ROAR |
| Leflore County Judge Solomon Osbourne, Lawrence Guyot, Amzie Moore, Jr. Patricia M. Thompson and Charles McLaurin Amzie Moore Park October1, 2005 The Amzie Moore Monument was unveiled as part of the 5th Annual Amzie Moore Day sponsored by ROAR and Amzie Moore Estates Guyot and McLaurin were close friends of both Amzie Moore and Fannie Lou Hamer |
| BY RALPH JONES |