Fannie Lou Hamer

"I have had to work in fields since I was six years old, and I've chopped cotton all my life."

"I believe that myself and people like me was put here to make a change."

"My mother's blood is white, and your mother's blood is white, but your father kept my mother."

"You don't have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step."

"I could not understand how or why people were against my voting."

"This is our country and we can change it. We just got to get organized."

"It's not about being like the white man. We have our own culture, and we're not going to lose it."

"My father was a slave, and I was born not far from slavery."

"I want to tell you that we have got to do all we can to change this country."

"Whether you're a man or a woman, if you stand up for what is right, God is with you."

"I've worked my whole life, and I'm tired of it."

"We're going to stay here all summer if it takes that long."

"I know the real America. I know what this country can be."

"We've got to make a change in this country."

"Don't let nobody turn you around. Keep your eyes on the prize."

"I'm willing to pay the price of change."

"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church and the seed of the change."

"I went to the courthouse and I was willing to lose everything."

"If you want to change things, you've got to do it yourself."

"I believed in God, but I believed in change too."

"My life has not been easy. It has been filled with struggle, but I would not trade it."

"All of us together have got to do this, black and white together."

"You can beat me, you can kill me, but you can't kill my spirit."

"I'm not here to ask for anything that belongs to you. I just want what's mine."

"The only thing that has kept me going is my faith in God."

"I've lived through some rough times, but I've never given up hope."

"We've got to be willing to sacrifice for this country."

"I don't care if I'm remembered or not. I just want my people to be free."

"I've seen a lot of suffering, but I've also seen a lot of love."

"We can't buy the change we want. We have to fight for it."