Vernon Dahmer

Illustration by Brittanie Mitchell

Vernon Dahmer was a farmer, businessman, and voting rights activist from Forrest County, Mississippi who grew up as the youngest in a large family with twelve siblings.

Aside from supporting the local economy, Vernon was also very active in The Civil Rights Movement as the NAACP president of Forrest County, and would host voter registration events at his farm for activists and community members. He went as far as offering to pay poll taxes for voters who wouldn't have been able to vote otherwise.