Annie Bell Robinson Devine (1912–2000) was an American activist in the Civil Rights Movement. Biography Born in Mobile, Alabama and raised in Canton, Mississippi, Devine attended Tougaloo College, similar to Anne Moody (also in the Civil Rights Movement). After college, Annie became an insurance agent and later a schoolteacher. Involvement with the movement Annie Devine wasn't very interested in the Civil Rights Movement until Dave Dennis, George Raymond (NAACP) and some others started using C.O. Chinn's motel to hold NAACP meetings. She would pass by their meetings on her way home some nights, and one night she decided to join in after they moved the meetings to a church away from the city center. Annie became interested in Civil Rights after a quick encounter with a cop at that specific meeting. That very next day, Devine started canvassing for votes on the streets of Mississippi; she began meeting with other blacks in Canton to discuss civil rights issues. Eventually, Devine quit her job selling insurance to work full-time for the Congress of Racial Equality (CORE). Quickly realizing that canvassing and asking for votes wasn't making a huge dent in the movement, Annie wanted to be a part of the bigger phase two. In 1964, Devine joined Fannie Lou Hamer and Victoria Gray Adams to become the first black women to speak before the United States House of Representatives. The three were elected state representatives for the progressive Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party. Devine helped found the party, and was a member of its delegation to the 1964 Democratic National Convention in New Jersey. Upon returning from the convention, Annie decided to accept running for congresswoman of her district. She was declined by the secretary of state to have her name on the ballot. The Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) was also denied to run individually in the election even though they had the right number of qualified electors. Annie was then elected by freedom votes. She makes sure to state in her interview, “... very strong feeling there had to be some political force other than civil rights organizations in this state to bring about change” (Devine). Annie also had a very strong opinion about the Voting Rights bill passed by president Lyndon B. Johnson in 1965. She said, “there’s nothing in the voting bill that can really protect you. You can get registered, the federal registrar will register you, there’s