The civil rights movement in the United States took place primarily in the 1960s. This movement had many strong faces ready to lead a movement of African Americans to gain the rights they deserved. However, it was two of the least recognizable faces that helped shape the movement. Ella Baker, who wanted to make a change in the system, and Fannie Lou Hamer, well known for her actions in trying to rally support, were two women who helped change the way the civil rights movement unfolded. The SNCC, Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, was formed to prevent violence by younger blacks and to try to resolve the issue of segregation peacefully. Fannie Lou Hamer and Ella Baker both had ideas about how to change the unrecognized racist policies of some states at the time, and their paths to leadership roles within African-American society are intriguing for both women. Fannie Lou Hamer, born in 1917, came from a family of sharecroppers, similar to slavery abolished some fifty years earlier. His father was a Baptist preacher, but had a sideshow as a bootlegger for his community. His early background was reason enough to join any civil rights movement that would arise years later. Sharecropping was a way for white Southerners to keep their foot firmly on the necks of African Americans, so that they could not be a major part of real society. With her family surviving on just “$300 a year,” Fannie Lou Hamer described her life as “worse than difficult.” Hamer began working at a young age and later realized that she had been tricked into working for a conniving plantation owner. She soon learned the hard way that hard work for a white planter... middle of paper... to get them registered to vote and make the change needed for the South. Hamer's whimsical nature made her an easy target, just like Ella Baker, for law enforcement in the South, but that hasn't stopped her from trying to make a difference. Both women were extremely strong in their beliefs that there needed to be change for African Americans. Whether this change occurred in the South, or throughout the United States, both of these women wanted things to be different. They used their backgrounds and experiences to advocate for change and spread the word about how to make a difference in society. Their leadership roles may have been different across the African American spectrum, but both women were highly respected during their time at the top. They grew from their experiences and used them to their advantage when they represented the change they wanted to see.