Did you know In 1961 Hamer was given a hysterectomy without her consent and was made sterile and was not able to give birth? This was the catalyst that set her on the path to the forefront of the Mississippi Civil Rights movement. Up until 1963 while demonstrating a sit-in at a whites only lunch counter she and several others were arrested and beaten. Hamer’s eyes, legs, and kidneys received damage that affected her for the rest of her life. In the following months she increased her public profile. She was slowly becoming known as one of the most powerful speakers in the civil rights era. I’m 1964 she spoke at the public congress which broadcasted her powerful testimony. She spent the remainder of the 1960s balancing national activism with her local work in Mississippi. In 1977 she died from complications associated with heart disease and cancer. Respect to her life and her legacy.