Marie Hicks

Marie A. Hicks (December 20, 1923 – April 19, 2007) was an African-American activist during the American Civil Rights Movement. Nicknamed "the Rosa Parks of Girard College," she is best known for leading thousands of pickets around the wall of that academic institution during the mid-1960s. Her efforts led to her sons being enrolled in the formerly all-white school in 1968.

Marie A. Hicks
Born(1923-12-20)December 20, 1923
Harlem, New York
DiedApril 19, 2007(2007-04-19) (aged 83)
Germantown, Pennsylvania
OccupationAmerican Civil Rights activist and sociologist
Known forPressuring Girard College to integrate

Formative years

Born in Harlem, New York on December 20, 1923, Hicks married Junius Fletcher Hicks (1921–1964), who served with the United States Army during World War II, and moved with him during the 1960s to a section of North Philadelphia near Girard College. Walled off from the community, the college was only open for admissions, at that time, to white students who were fatherless.[1]

Civil Rights work

As the mother of two boys who were unable to benefit from educational offerings at their neighborhood college due to its race-based admissions policies, Hicks became an advocate for her sons, Charles and Theodore,[2] and then an activist for her entire community, state and nation during the American Civil Rights movement, leading thousands of pickets at Girard College in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to raise awareness of the institution's practice of denying students admission based on their race. Among those joining her in those protests were Martin Luther King, Jr. and Cecil B. Moore.[3]

In addition to protesting and organizing, she also sued the college. As a result, the school was integrated. Two of the first four African-American students were her sons, Charles Hicks (Girard College) and Theodore Hicks; her son, Theodore ultimately became the school's first black valedictorian. As the school's student body continued to diversify, the college finally admitted its first female student during the 1980s.[2][1]

Later years

During the 1970s, Marie Hicks obtained employment as a maid at La Salle University, and began attending night classes there. In 1980, she was awarded a bachelor's degree in sociology from that institution.[3]

While writing for Philadelphia's Scoop newspaper, she interviewed and worked with homeless women. She remained active well into her later life, working with senior citizens as a volunteer for Center in the Park’s Intergenerational Programs.[1]

Illness, death and interment

Diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, Hicks died aged 83 from complications related to her condition on April 19, 2007, in Germantown, Pennsylvania. She was buried next to her husband at the Beverly National Cemetery in Burlington, New Jersey.[3]

References
  1. "Marie Hicks: Helping Others...as an Activist and then as a Volunteer", in "Coming of Age." Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Center for Intergenerational Learning, Temple University, retrieved from the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine, July 16, 2019.
  2. Williams, Juan. "The Gradual Integration of Girard College," in Morning Edition. Washington, D.C.: NPR, August 5, 2005.
  3. Sims, Gayle Ronan (April 21, 2007). "Marie Hicks, 83, the Rosa Parks of Girard College", The Philadelphia Inquirer.
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