From Mary Watkins “Dark River” (Act 2, Scene 6)

In this scene, Fannie Lou Hamer persuades the delegates of the Mississippi Freedom Party to reject an offer from Vice President Hubert Humphrey. In a previous scene, Humphrey has told the delegates that he will allow only two of the Freedom Party delegates, one white and one black, to be seated with the Mississippi Delegation at the convention. In spite of the pressure to back off, Fannie insists that the whole delegation must be seated and persuades the delegates to stand with her.

Listen to The Delegates Meet
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Music and lyrics ©2009, Mary Watkins, All Rights Reserved, BMI

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”

FANNIE LOU

We are getting strong messages
Of disapproval
from the Nervous Nellies,
and the Uncle Toms.
The party leaders
want us to keep a low profile,
accept their offer, go away
and let the Black “middle class”
lead the way.

And since we don’t agree with them
we are not going to bow to that.

CHORUS

No! No! No! No! No we won’t.

FANNIE LOU

While some of them was sitting in
Air conditioned offices,
And riding around
In big fancy cars

CHORUS

A-men, A-men, A-men!

FANNIE LOU

We were risking our lives

CHORUS

Yes we were, yes we were
risking our lives all day, all day
in the hot sun

FANNIE LOU

On back country roads
mile after mile in the hot summer sun.
We were working with the people every day

CHORUS

Every day, all day
we walked and we talked
All day in the summer sun

FANNIE LOU

We were working with the people every day.

CHORUS

Every day , all day we walked and we talked
All day in the summer sun

FANNIE LOU

Yes we did, yes we did!

CHORUS

Every day in the hot summer sun

FANNIE LOU

Lord knows

CHORUS

All day walkin’ and talkin’ with the people

FANNIE LOU

Yes we did, yes we did,
every day every one
everyone one of us

CHORUS

We have come this far by our faith
and we came here to expose
the corruption of Mississippi politics

FANNIE LOU

We’re here to tell the world!
We don’t need college degrees
to tell our own story!
We know who we are,
What we want
And why we want it!!
(APPLAUSE AND CHEERING)

CHORUS

We are here to expose
to the convention and to the world
the corruption of Mississippi Politics.

FANNIE LOU

We know who we are,
What we want
And why we want it!!

CHORUS

We know what we want

FANNIE LOU

And we know why we want it

CHORUS

We know who we are,
We know what we want.
And we don’t need nobody else
to try to tell our story.
We know who we are,
We know what we want .
And we don’t need nobody else,
to try to tell our story!

FANNIE LOU

The Freedom Party
should be seated here today

Music and lyrics ©2009, Mary Watkins, All Rights Reserved, BMI