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In a movement filled with larger-than-life figures, Civil Rights leader Fannie Lou Hamer stood out for reflecting the everyday experiences of African Americans in the South. And when she used her powerful voice to speak—or sing—people listened!

Hamer grew up in Mississippi, where she saw firsthand the poverty and discrimination that black families endured in the aftermath of slavery. Inspired by Civil Rights groups such as the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, she volunteered to help register African Americans to vote. But black voters in the South faced many obstacles, from literacy tests and poll taxes to intimidation and violence. Hamer endured constant threats to her family, as well as an arrest and beating at the hands of police. But she refused to be silenced.

She gave speeches to rally support for black voting rights, and her speech at the 1964 Democratic National Convention shined a national spotlight on the oppressive treatment of African Americans in the South. The courage and persistence of activists like Hamer helped secure passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, an important victory in the fight for equal rights.

Click below to watch and hear more about one of the most important voices of the Civil Rights Movement!