Civil Rights activist Fannie Lou Hamer to come to life on Goshen College stage Nov. 12

GOSHEN, Ind. -- Veteran stage actress Billie Jean Young will bring to life the Mississippi-born, sharecropping, freedom-fighting Fannie Lou Hamer on Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. in Goshen College's Rieth Recital Hall. The event is free and open to the public.

In her captivating, award-winning one-woman show, titled "Fannie Lou Hamer: This Little Light ...," Young recaptures the breadth and impact of Hamer's brave journey from downtrodden field worker to victorious champion of civil and human rights. Audiences come away from the show imbued with new knowledge of the history of the Civil Rights movement.

Hamer, born in 1917 in Montgomery County, Miss., decided to register to vote and become active in the Civil Rights Movement at the age of 45 after attending a Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee meeting. In response to the degradation she endured under slavery and sharecropping, Hamer later declared, in her now famous words, "I am sick and tired of being sick and tired!"

Hamer led the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party (MFDP) Challenge in 1964 at the National Democratic Party Convention during which 68 delegates elected under the MFDP banner in Mississippi challenged the legality of the all-white Mississippi delegation and asked to be seated. She also testified about the atrocities visited upon Blacks in Mississippi for attempting to vote.

Said Young, "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."

A prolific poet, activist and dramatist, Young's many artistic endeavors include her poetry collection, "My Name is Black." Young is a graduate of Judson College, Selma University, Samford University and Cumberland School of Law.

Young has received several awards since creating "Fannie Lou Hamer: This Little Light ...," including 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.

This event is sponsored by Goshen College's offices of Academic Affairs and Student Life, as well as the Plowshares Project on campus.

Goshen College, established in 1894, is a four-year residential Christian liberal arts college rooted in the Anabaptist-Mennonite tradition. The college's Christ-centered core values -- passionate learning, global citizenship, compassionate peacemaking and servant-leadership -- prepare students as leaders for the church and world. Recognized for its unique Study-Service Term program, Goshen has earned citations of excellence in Barron's Best Buys in Education, Kaplan's "Most Interesting Colleges" guide and U.S.News & World Report's "America's Best Colleges" edition, which named Goshen a "least debt college." Visit www.goshen.edu.

Editors: For more information, contact Jodi H. Beyeler at (574) 535-7572 or jodihb@goshen.edu.

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