New Jersey unveils plaque honoring Fannie Lou Hamer's historic 1964 DNC speech

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ (CBS) — Tuesday is second day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, but 60 years ago the convention took place in Atlantic City.

It was 1964. Atlantic City hosted the convention at Boardwalk Hall. It was here that civil rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer gave her groundbreaking speech and protested against the seating arrangement of an all-white delegation from Mississippi.

“This plaque commemorates the struggle and honors the men and women who stood up for freedom and the men and women who fought for civil rights,” said Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves.

Reeves and New Jersey Lieutenant Governor Tahesha Way helped unveil an official Mississippi Freedom Trail marker on the boardwalk Tuesday morning dedicated to Hamer and the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Hamer's speech in Atlantic City helped shape the future of voting rights in America, and in 1968 Mississippi had its first integrated delegation.

“We cannot heal our nation from centuries of racism and discrimination without making that history visible,” Way said.

“It was very important then and it's even more important now, with the election coming up,” said David Dennis, one of the organizers of the 1964 Mississippi Freedom Summer, which aimed to register as many African-American voters as possible.

Dennis said the marker represents the struggle black people have gone through and symbolizes how far our country has come since Hamer's speech exactly 60 years ago. Vice President Kamala Harris will accept the Democratic presidential nomination.

“The fact that 60 years later a black woman is running for president of the United States is extremely significant,” Dennis said.

New Jersey is now the first and only state outside of Mississippi to have an official Mississippi Freedom Trail marker.

“I believe this plaque helps us pass on their story to a younger generation who might not otherwise have known all that their predecessors accomplished,” Reeves said.