Cotton Quote by Fannie Lou Hamer
“I remember, and I will never forget, one day - I was six years old and I was playing beside the road and this plantation owner drove up to me and stopped and asked me "could I pick some cotton." I told him I didn't know and he said, "Yes, you can. I will give you things that you want from the commissary store," and he named a huge list that he called off. I picked the 30 pounds of cotton that week, but I found out what actually happened was he was trapping me into beginning the work I was to keep doing and I never did get out of his debt again.”
About This Quote
Source Interview: Oral History with Fannie Lou Hamer, 1970s
A child is coerced into labor through deceptive promises, leading to lifelong debt servitude.
In simple terms: A kid was tricked into work and debt.
Key Takeaway
Beware deceptive offers that bind you.
Themes
exploitation
debt
child labor
racial injustice
Mood
sad
angry
reflective
Type
historical
testimonial
social critique
When to use this quote
- share farming
- childhood labor
- poverty cycles
- legal reform
Key Concepts
systemic oppression
economic coercion
psychological manipulation
Questions to Reflect On
- How do promises become traps?
- What safeguards can prevent such exploitation?
A Different Perspective
The narrative may oversimplify complex historical labor practices.
![“I will never forget, one day [when I] was six years old and I was playing beside the road and this plantation owner drove up to me and stopped and asked me, 'could I pick cotton.' I told him I didn't know and he said, 'Yes, you can. I will give you things that you want from the commissary store,'…” quote by Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/593/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_sardines_i-will-never-forget-one-day-when-i-was-s_2563225.jpg)
![“I met one child there eleven years old, speaking three languages [in Guinea]. He could speak English, French and Malinke. Speaking my language actually better than I could. And this hypocrisy - they tell us here in America [ that black people can't be intelligent].” quote by Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/6ef/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_america_i-met-one-child-there-eleven-years-old-s_78966.jpg)
![“... some of my people could have been left [in Africa] and are living there. And I can't understand them and they don't know me and I don't know them because all we had was taken away from us. And I became kind of angry; Ifelt the anger of why this had to happen to us. We were so stripped and…” quote by Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/d38/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_robbed_some-of-my-people-could-have-been-left-i_142242.jpg)
![“Senator [Tom] Cotton has campaigned on wanting to kill Obamacare. He voted to repeal the Affordable Care Act back in January, but he now says, despite these marathon all-night sessions going on in the House, Republicans need to do better, they need to start over, they need to come up with…” quote by Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/ba0/rachel-maddow-1240_affordable_senator-tom-cotton-has-campaigned-on-wan_18158.jpg)
![“[Tom Cotton] has been an absolute champion of the idea of getting rid of Obamacare, scrapping the Affordable Care Act.” quote by Rachel Maddow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/a13/rachel-maddow-1240_absolutes_tom-cotton-has-been-an-absolute-champion_30724.jpg)
