The 20th child of a Mississippi sharecropper family and a commanding voice of the Civil Rights Movement, Fannie Lou Hamer (1917–1977) stood tall against the brutality, indignities, and intimidation of implacable racism. She harnessed her mother’s gifts of song and plain-spoken wisdom to steel her fellow seekers of social justice, the cause to which she gave her life. Songs My Mother Taught Me, a re-release of limited-edition 1963 field recordings, breathes new life into Fannie Lou Hamer’s inspiring legacy and her uncompromising call for a righteous world. 47 minutes, 32-page booklet with photos.

This recording is the eighth release in the Smithsonian Folkways African American Legacy Series, co-presented with the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. This album was originally released as a limited-edition cassette tape at the Smithsonian Institution’s Voices of the Civil Rights Movement symposium in 1983. It was compiled by folklorist, activist, and GRAMMY-winner Worth Long and produced by renowned singer, song leader, and civil rights activist Dr. Bernice Johnson Reagon.

FREE DOWNLOAD
Please enjoy a free download of the song “Keep Your Lamps Trimmed and Burning”

Track Listing