Fannie Lou Hamer's America.
ATLANTIC CITY - A statute honoring the legacy of civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer will be unveiled and dedicated at 10 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 10 at James Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
The dedication will take place the same day as the 20th annual Fannie Lou Hamer Human and Civil Rights Symposium, which will be held 2:30 p.m. at Stockton University's Performing Arts Center in Galloway Township.
The over 7-foot statue is a resin mold of a Hamer statue designed by acclaimed New Jersey-based master sculptor Brian Hanlon. The original statue was erected in Hamer's hometown of Ruleville, Mississippi, in 2012 by the National Fannie Lou Hamer Memorial Statue Committee.
Stockton Distinguished Professor of Africana Studies and Social Work Patricia Reid-Merritt, the chair of that committee, donated the resin statue to Atlantic City to be placed near the Atlantic City Experience historical exhibit in Boardwalk Hall, which is curated by the Atlantic City Free Public Library.
Stockton is proud to be the only university that has consistently honored and recognized Hamer's fight for civil rights, voting rights and human rights. She is best known for her inspiring speech before the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City's Boardwalk Hall.
The dedication is a collaboration between Stockton, the City of Atlantic City, the Casino Reinvestment Development Authority and the Atlantic City Free Public Library.
