Fannie Lou Hamer was dragged into a Mississippi jail and beaten until her body could barely function. White officers forced two Black prisoners to assault her while they stood by, ensuring the punishment was carried out. The blows left her with permanent kidney damage, a blood clot in her eye, and lifelong injuries that never healed. She was left bruised, broken, and in pain, yet she never stopped fighting. She stood before the nation and told the truth about what was done to her, refusing to let fear or violence silence her.

