Fannie Lou Hamer, called the spirit of the Civil Rights Movement, led the way with organizing ability, music, and stories, helping to win the right to vote for African Americans in the South.

See: Fannie Lou Hamer Biography

• Im sick and tired of being sick and tired.

• To support whatever is right, and to bring in justice where weve had so much injustice.

• Nobodys free until everybodys free.

• We serve God by serving our fellow man; kids are suffering from malnutrition. People are going to the fields hungry. If you are a Christian, we are tired of being mistreated.

• Whether you have a Ph.D., or no D, were in this bag together. And whether youre from Morehouse or Nohouse, were still in this bag together. Not to fight to try to liberate ourselves from the men -- this is another trick to get us fighting among ourselves -- but to work together with the black man, then we will have a better chance to just act as human beings, and to be treated as human beings in our sick society.

• There is one thing you have got to learn about our movement. Three people are better than no people.

• One night I went to the church. They had a mass meeting. And I went to the church, and they talked about how it was our right, that we could register and vote. They were talking about we could vote out people that we didnt want in office, we thought that wasnt right, that we could vote them out.

That sounded interesting enough to me that I wanted to try it. I had never heard, until 1962, that black people could register and vote.

• When they asked for those to raise their hands whod go down to the courthouse the next day, I raised mine. Had it high up as I could get it. I guess if Id had any sense Idve been a little scared, but what was the point of being scared?

The only thing they could do to me was kill me and it seemed like theyd been trying to do that a little bit at a time ever since I could remember.

• The landowner said I would have to go back to withdraw or I would have to leave and so I told him I didnt