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“I’m sick and tired of being sick and tired” is one of the defining quotes of the Civil Rights Movement. The woman responsible for the memorable words, Fannie Lou Hamer, is the subject of a gospel-infused opera at the Oakland Metro Operahouse Theatre.

“Dark River” tells the story of Hamer, who was pushed off the land she worked as a sharecropper in her native Mississippi after registering to vote during the early days of the movement. She defied death threats and attacks to join the movement and became a Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee field secretary and later cofounded the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party.

Hamer drew attention at the 1964 Democratic National Convention in Atlantic City, N.J., when she led a protest against the exclusion of blacks from Mississippi’s convention delegation. Her group eventually won some concessions after the protest proved embarrassing for President Lyndon Johnson.

The production, which opened this week, also recounts the history of the SNCC and how the movement affected the South and U.S. history.

“Dark River,” by Oakland composer Mary Watkins, is the first collaboration between the Metro Operahouse, which has a record of staging operas about contemporary politics and history, and Cal State East Bay.

Oakland Metro Operahouse Theatre co-founder Tom Dean provides the artistic direction, and Deirdre McClure is the musical director. The stage director is Darryl Jones, the head of Cal

State East Bay’s musical theater department. Joining him in the crew and cast are current and former students from the university.

“Dark River” runs until Nov. 22. Performances will be held 2 p.m. today, followed by shows at 8 p.m. Thursday and Saturday and 2 p.m. Nov. 22. Tickets are $28 on weekends and $14 for Thursday shows.

The Oakland Metro Operahouse Theatre is located at 630 Third St. For more information and tickets, visit www.oaklandopera.org or call 510-763-1146.