Bettie Mae Fikes (born 1948), also known as The Voice of Selma, is an American singer and

civil rights activist Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...

Life

Born in Selma, Alabama in 1948, she began singing at the age of four. Fikes was a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC)

Freedom Singers The Freedom Singers originated as a quartet formed in 1962 at Albany State College in Albany, Georgia. After folk singer Pete Seeger witnessed the power of their congregational-style of singing, which fused black Baptist ''a cappella'' church singin ...

, and became known as "the Voice of Selma". She was jailed as a teenager in 1963 for her participation in a Selma protest and was also involved in

Bloody Sunday Bloody Sunday may refer to: Historical events Canada * Bloody Sunday (1923), a day of police violence during a steelworkers' strike for union recognition in Sydney, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia * Bloody Sunday (1938), police violence aga ...

in 1965. Her new lyrics for "

This Little Light of Mine "This Little Light of Mine" is a popular gospel song of unknown origin. It was often reported to be written for children in the 1920s by Harry Dixon Loes, but he never claimed credit for the original version of the song, and the Moody Bible Inst ...

" and other songs became particularly known. She performed at both the

1964 Democratic National Convention The 1964 Democratic National Convention of the Democratic Party, took place at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey from August 24 to 27, 1964. President Lyndon B. Johnson was nominated for a full term. Senator Hubert H. Humphrey of Minn ...

and the

2004 Democratic National Convention The 2004 Democratic National Convention convened from July 26 to 29, 2004 at the FleetCenter (now the TD Garden) in Boston, Massachusetts, and nominated Senator John Kerry from Massachusetts for president and Senator John Edwards from North ...

. In 2020, she sang at the funeral services for John Lewis, which she indicated might be her final public performance.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

* * 1948 births Living people Activists from Selma, Alabama Singers from Alabama American civil rights activists 20th-century American women singers Musicians from Selma, Alabama American blues singers Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee 21st-century American women singers 20th-century African-American women singers African-American activists 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Women civil rights activists 21st-century African-American women singers {{US-activist-stub