--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I will never forget, one day [when I] was…" description: "\"“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 ask..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_sardines_i-will-never-forget-one-day-when-i-was-s_2563225.jpg" --- # I will never forget, one day \[when I\] was six years old… ![“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/i/593/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_sardines_i-will-never-forget-one-day-when-i-was-s_2563225.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_sardines_i-will-never-forget-one-day-when-i-was-s_2563225.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/593/fannie-lou-hamer-3999_sardines_i-will-never-forget-one-day-when-i-was-s_2563225.jpg) > ““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,' and he named things like crackerjacks and sardines--and it was a huge list that he called off. So 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. My parents tried so hard to do what they could to keep us in school, but school didn't last four months out of the year and most of the time we didn't have clothes to wear.”” [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A child was coerced into labor through deceptive promises, illustrating how systemic exploitation traps vulnerable people in debt and poverty. **In simple terms:** Exploited child labor creates lifelong debt cycles. Key Takeaway Recognize and resist deceptive labor practices. Themes exploitation poverty education systemic racism Mood somber determined urgent Type historical social justice educational When to use this quote - advocacy for fair labor laws - supporting school attendance - community empowerment Key Concepts debt bondage child labor racial oppression Questions to Reflect On - What modern systems perpetuate similar debt traps? - How can education break these cycles? A Different Perspective May oversimplify complex historical socioeconomic factors. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Sardines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sardines/) ## Related quotes > [I remember, and I will never forget, one day - I was six years old and I was playing beside the road and this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-remember-and-i-will-never-forget-one-day-i-was-six-years-old-and-i/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [My parents would make huge crops of sometimes 55 to 60 bales of cotton. Being from a big family where there were 20 children,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/my-parents-would-make-huge-crops-of-sometimes-55-to-60-bales-of/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [I am supposed to be, according to what I am told, one of the children of the cotton plantation owner's sons. If I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eartha-kitt/i-am-supposed-to-be-according-to-what-i-am-told-one-of-the-children/) [Eartha Kitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eartha-kitt/) > [...funny how people want a return to the good ole days. Of coarse the good ole days of being a rich white plantation owner.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-mae-brown/funny-how-people-want-a-return-to-the-good-ole-days-of-coarse-the/) [Rita Mae Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-mae-brown/) > [The blacks have their parties, hustle a little liquor, get some things together, and I used to play for those peoples. They'd come get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/muddy-waters/the-blacks-have-their-parties-hustle-a-little-liquor-get-some-things/) [Muddy Waters](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/muddy-waters/) > [I'd have to pick cotton for a year to make what I'd make in a week in L.A.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-campbell/i-d-have-to-pick-cotton-for-a-year-to-make-what-i-d-make-in-a-week-in/) [Glen Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-campbell/) > [That was where my dream began to take hold, of not havin' to pick cotton and potatoes, and not havin' to be uncomfortable, too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/buck-owens/that-was-where-my-dream-began-to-take-hold-of-not-havin-to-pick/) [Buck Owens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/buck-owens/) > [The sardines had their heads on and they were like watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah/the-sardines-had-their-heads-on-and-they-were-like-watching-you/) [Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah/) > [Doing 20 minutes of stretching, light weights and floor exercises three times a week takes the same amount of time as a long coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/doing-20-minutes-of-stretching-light-weights-and-floor-exercises/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: WHAT SCENES ONE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE FILMED Shakespeare in the part of the King's Ghost. The beheading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/in-answer-to-the-question-what-scenes-one-would-like-to-have-filmed/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“On the forest floor was the LVR's smoldering ceiling panel, just lying there like the lid of a sardine can that had been eagerly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cuthbert-soup/on-the-forest-floor-was-the-lvr-s-smoldering-ceiling-panel-just-lying/) [Cuthbert Soup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cuthbert-soup/) > [Bullfighting can be an art Boxing can be an art Loving can be an art Opening a can of sardines can be an art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/bullfighting-can-be-an-art-boxing-can-be-an-art-loving-can-be-an-art/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [I'm kind of like one of those people that picks up small and interesting bits of wood and doesn't want to let go of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-strummer/i-m-kind-of-like-one-of-those-people-that-picks-up-small-and/) [Joe Strummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-strummer/) > [I had the lunchbox that cleared the cafeteria. I was very unpopular in the early grades. Because I hung out with my grandfather, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-ray/i-had-the-lunchbox-that-cleared-the-cafeteria-i-was-very-unpopular-in/) [Rachael Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-ray/) > [Maybe some people will not agree, but I like to eat sardines in the morning for breakfast. I think some people will have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/maybe-some-people-will-not-agree-but-i-like-to-eat-sardines-in-the/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) ## More by Fannie Lou Hamer > [We have to build our own power. We have to win every single political office we can, where we have a majority of black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-have-to-build-our-own-power-we-have-to-win-every-single-political/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [You know what really made me sick? I was in Washington, D.C. at another time reading in a paper where the U.S. gives Byron…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/you-know-what-really-made-me-sick-i-was-in-washington-d-c-at-another/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [It was the 31st of August in 1962 that eighteen of us traveled twenty-six miles to the county courthouse in Indianola to try to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/it-was-the-31st-of-august-in-1962-that-eighteen-of-us-traveled-twenty/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-am-sick-and-tired-of-being-sick-and-tired/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [ I met one child there eleven years old, speaking three languages \[in Guinea\]. He could speak English, French and Malinke. Speaking my language actually… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-met-one-child-there-eleven-years-old-speaking-three-languages-in/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [ ... 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… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/some-of-my-people-could-have-been-left-in-africa-and-are-living-there/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [I saw in Chicago, on the street where I was visiting my sister-in-law, this "Urban Renewal" and it means one thing: "Negro removal." But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-saw-in-chicago-on-the-street-where-i-was-visiting-my-sister-in-law/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [We didnt come all this way for no two seats when all of us is tired,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/we-didnt-come-all-this-way-for-no-two-seats-when-all-of-us-is-tired/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [The Mississippi is not the only river. There's the Tallahatchie and the Big Black. People have been put in the river year after year,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/the-mississippi-is-not-the-only-river-there-s-the-tallahatchie-and/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [I was in jail when Medgar Evers was murdered and nothing, I mean nothing has been done about that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/i-was-in-jail-when-medgar-evers-was-murdered-and-nothing-i-mean/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [“Whether you have a Ph. D. or no D. we're in this bag together.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/whether-you-have-a-ph-d-or-no-d-we-re-in-this-bag-together/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [What I really feel is necessary is that the black people in this country wil have to upset this apple cart. We can no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/what-i-really-feel-is-necessary-is-that-the-black-people-in-this/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [One day I know the struggle will change. There's got to be a change-not only for Mississippi, not only for the people in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/one-day-i-know-the-struggle-will-change-there-s-got-to-be-a-change/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [A black woman's body was never hers alone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/a-black-woman-s-body-was-never-hers-alone/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) > [With the people, for the people, by the people. I crack up when I hear it; I say, with the handful, for the handful,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fannie-lou-hamer/with-the-people-for-the-people-by-the-people-i-crack-up-when-i-hear/) [Fannie Lou Hamer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) [Explore all 118 Fannie Lou Hamer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fannie-lou-hamer/) ## More Sardines quotes > [Maybe some people will not agree, but I like to eat sardines in the morning for breakfast. I think some people will have a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-murdock/maybe-some-people-will-not-agree-but-i-like-to-eat-sardines-in-the/) [David H. Murdock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-murdock/) > [I had the lunchbox that cleared the cafeteria. I was very unpopular in the early grades. Because I hung out with my grandfather, I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rachael-ray/i-had-the-lunchbox-that-cleared-the-cafeteria-i-was-very-unpopular-in/) [Rachael Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rachael-ray/) > [I'm kind of like one of those people that picks up small and interesting bits of wood and doesn't want to let go of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-strummer/i-m-kind-of-like-one-of-those-people-that-picks-up-small-and/) [Joe Strummer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-strummer/) > [Bullfighting can be an art Boxing can be an art Loving can be an art Opening a can of sardines can be an art](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-bukowski/bullfighting-can-be-an-art-boxing-can-be-an-art-loving-can-be-an-art/) [Charles Bukowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-bukowski/) > [Doing 20 minutes of stretching, light weights and floor exercises three times a week takes the same amount of time as a long coffee…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-collins/doing-20-minutes-of-stretching-light-weights-and-floor-exercises/) [Joan Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-collins/) > [The sardines had their heads on and they were like watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah/the-sardines-had-their-heads-on-and-they-were-like-watching-you/) [Sarah](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah/) > [IN ANSWER TO THE QUESTION: WHAT SCENES ONE WOULD LIKE TO HAVE FILMED Shakespeare in the part of the King's Ghost. The beheading of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-nabokov/in-answer-to-the-question-what-scenes-one-would-like-to-have-filmed/) [Vladimir Nabokov](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-nabokov/) > [“On the forest floor was the LVR's smoldering ceiling panel, just lying there like the lid of a sardine can that had been eagerly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cuthbert-soup/on-the-forest-floor-was-the-lvr-s-smoldering-ceiling-panel-just-lying/) [Cuthbert Soup](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cuthbert-soup/) > [The only thing on the mind of shark is eat..by any means and you're just sardines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lil-wayne/the-only-thing-on-the-mind-of-shark-is-eat-by-any-means-and-you-re/) [Lil Wayne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lil-wayne/) > [It's hard to ravish a tin of sardines.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-h-lawrence/it-s-hard-to-ravish-a-tin-of-sardines/) [D. H. Lawrence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-h-lawrence/) > [I'm from South Jersey: The idea of eating a roll with olive oil and anchovies or some kind of sardine and drinking mint tea…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/patti-smith/i-m-from-south-jersey-the-idea-of-eating-a-roll-with-olive-oil-and/) [Patti Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/patti-smith/) > [So when I cease to be I want to go back...to the sea! Oh for the life of a sardine! That is the life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlie-chaplin/so-when-i-cease-to-be-i-want-to-go-back-to-the-sea-oh-for-the-life-of/) [Charlie Chaplin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlie-chaplin/) > [I eat a tin of sardines every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bob-mortimer/i-eat-a-tin-of-sardines-every-day/) [Bob Mortimer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bob-mortimer/) > [I love fishy anchovies and sardines and that kind of stuff.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antoni-porowski/i-love-fishy-anchovies-and-sardines-and-that-kind-of-stuff/) [Antoni Porowski](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antoni-porowski/) > [I fully realize that this gratitude of mine is not in the least a sign of perfection: it must be my nature - I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/teresa-of-vila/i-fully-realize-that-this-gratitude-of-mine-is-not-in-the-least-a/) [Teresa of Avila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/teresa-of-vila/) [Browse all 32 Sardines quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sardines/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“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,' and he named things like crackerjacks and sardines--and it was a huge list that he called off. So 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. 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