Have students use the internet to research a definition of intersectionality, a theory and term coined by the scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw. Share out definitions and write a class definition on the board.

Then, have students individually research the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP). Each student should list 5-10 facts about the MFDP and share them with the class. Distribute copies of Fannie Lou Hamer’s 1964 testimony to the Democratic National Convention on behalf of the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Allow time for students to read the document individually. Give a content warning, as this document contains graphic details of racial violence as well as the n-word.

Then place students into groups of 2-3 students each. The groups should each use the OPCVL protocol to analyze the document. 

Then, share out as a full class. Facilitate a debrief discussion using the following questions:

• Why does Fannie Lou Hamer believe the Democratic Convention should seat delegates from the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party? What’s her overall argument?
• Why is it important that this testimony came from Fannie Lou Hamer rather than another Black person who attempted to register to vote? Why might Black leaders from the MFDP have chosen her to speak at the convention instead of someone else?
• What does this document show you about the role of rural Southern Black women in the civil rights movement?