In 1962, Fannie Lou Hamer brought a group of her neighbors to the courthouse to register to vote. They were denied. On the way home, their bus was stopped by police, and in response to the harassment, Hamer began leading her group in singing spirituals. She spent her career training people in voter registration across the country, and co-organized Freedom Summer, which uplifted student civic engagement in the segregated South. Without Fannie Lou Hamer, the voting rights we sometimes take for granted now would not exist. Did you know?: You can listen to Fannie Lou Hamer on your music streaming service. 'The Songs My Mother Taught Me', a re-release of her 1983 field recordings, is a combination of folk music and audio story telling. A beautiful documentation of Fannie Lou Hamer's fearlessness when it came to speaking up about injustice. #fannielouhamer #blackhistorymonth #civilrightsmovement #voterregistration