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| "I felt a magnetic
pull toward Fannie Lou Hamer the first time I heard her speak in
Tuskegee, Alabama in August, 1969 on the day of hurricane Camille. Afterwards,
I asked her why did she choose to do this work. She responded, 'Baby, I didn't
choose; I was chosen.' That was about as close as anyone had drawn me to God
in a personal way up until then - and what she had to say tugged at my
heartstrings. I went on to college and law school, moved to Mississippi
afterwards, and picked up with Mrs. Hamer where I had left off that day in
Alabama - through those who remembered her best - women in the Southern Rural
Women's Network. My modest goal when I decided to do the show in 1983 was to
make sure Mississippi women knew about Mrs. Hamer. Almost 20 years and over
600 performances later, women on four continents have seen the show. After
seeing the effect her story has on people, my goal now is to take her message
of love and healing to the whole world...And, oh yes, John O'Neal, we
were right, 'Integrity conquers death.'" -Billie Jean Young |
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"Mrs. Hamer was grassroots, a strong, dignified,
majestic woman from the mississippi Delta. Watching Billie Jean Young
capture her in "Fannie Lou Hamer: This LIttle Light... is like being
transported back to the sixties when Mrs. Hamer lived and walked among us..."
-Unita Blackwell |
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| In twenty years, Young has received
several awards since creating Frannie Lou Hamer: This Little
Light.... These awards include: The Macarthur Fellows Award;
Mississippi Governor's Award for Artistic Achievement; Lucy Terry Prince Unsung
Heroine Award, and Essence Magazine's Salute to the Decade's Women of
Achievement Award. |
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Who is
Fannie Lou Hamer? |
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Images and text provided by Billie
Jean Young. Layout design by Melissa L. Reh |
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