Alabama Actress Keeps Fannie Lou Hamer’s “Little Light” Shining

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“I am sick and tired of being sick and tired.”

~Fannie Lou Hamer~

Actress and Alabama native Billie Jean Young has has done something not many have; she’s performed the same show more than 800 times on four continents. Her one-woman tribute tells the story of a Mississippi sharecropper turned civil rights activist, whose courage and work are often overlooked and in some cases, forgotten. Young says she first met Fannie Lou Hamer in 1969 and was deeply moved by Hamer’s fearlessness.

Below is an extended interview with Billie Jean Young.

 

Fannie Lou Hamer speaking to a crowd.

Fannie Lou Hamer speaking to a crowd.

 

 

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