Bettie Mae Fikes

Bettie Mae Fikes, a.k.a ‘the voice of Selma’, is a celebrated icon of the 1960’s civil rights movement who has since sustained her public activity by frequently performing as a core member of the SNCC Freedom Singers and has graced the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Newport Jazz Festival and the Library of Congress. She is a recipient of the Long Walk to Freedom Award, and has recently been inducted into the Smithsonian Institute’s ‘Museum of Tolerance’ in an exhibition honoring women of the Civil Rights Movement.

Bettie Mae Fikes began singing gospel with her mother at age 4 then, as a founding member of the Freedom Singers, began traveling with Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the Freedom Rights struggle. This is how she came to be known as the “Voice” of Selma. She has performed with the likes of Joe Turner, Lightnin’ Hopkins, Albert King and Bob Dillon, just to name a few.