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

Fifty years ago, civil rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer spoke before the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City—and her speech became one of the most pivotal moments of the Civil Rights Movement. Fannie Lou Hamer wasn’t one of those dainty, soft-spoken Southern ladies who drank sweet tea with a congenial smile and a Sunday go-to-church wide-brimmed hat. No. She was a tough, in-your-face, tell-it-like-it-is presence who spoke truth to power and stood up to the white power structure that ruled the state of Mississippi.
 Hamer’s big spirit was only matched by her passion for civil and human rights.