The Department of Africana Studies
“A Place Where Scholars, Thinkers and Leaders are Nurtured”

The Fannie Lou Hamer Queen Mother Society
Department of Africana Studies
LCH-C-316
1000 East Victoria Street
Carson, CA 90747
(310) 243-2155

The Queenmother is an African religious and political institution. The office is considered sacred and divine. Among the Akan of Ghana, the Queenmother’s office represents the purest form of womanhood and motherhood, and the divine awareness of the compatibility that should exists between males and females. The Queenmother, thus, embodies the soul of the community.

In West Africa, for example, the political system revolves around the institution of Queenmother is usually the person with the authority to appoint the King or Chief. She is also responsible for advising the Chief and is mostly noted for her influence on the Chief and the Chief’s Council of Elders. While the King or Chief manages the day-to-day affairs of the state, the Queenmother is essentially the Head of State. She is the final arbiter of disputes, which cannot be resolved by the Chief.

There is usually a number of qualified contenders for this important position in the community. The selection to the position of the queenmother by the Elders in usually based on the evidence of selfless service to the community, leadership qualities, and an impeccable moral character. Upon installation the Queeenmother takes on the role of the Mother of the community, symbolizing among other things the sacred role of women, motherhood and the Elders of the African Society.

We adopted the queenmother institution as an affirmation of and commitment to our African cultural heritage. Those enstooled as queenmothers inherit the responsibilities associated with the institution. They have sacred responsibility of promote and defend Africana humanity and the institutions in which that humanity is enshrined. They also have a responsibility for providing counsel and advice to the university and the community regarding issues and concerns impacting on the quality of life of Africana people.

The Fannie Lou Hamer Queenmother Society Members
1996 - Mrs. Mary O’Neal-Presiding & Founding Queenmother
1997 - Mrs. Alma Reaves-Woods
1998 – Honorable Juanita Millender McDonald
1999 - Mrs. Mary Elizabeth Little
2000 - Dr. Hansonia Caldwell
2000 - Dr. Joyce Johnson
2000 -Ms. Nzinga Ratibisha Heru
2001 - Ms. Saundra Willis
2002-Mrs. Evangeline Seward
2003-Mrs. Vergie Seymore

The Fannie Lou Hamer Queen Mother Society Constitution

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