By Catherine Pugh
Special to the AFRO
The viewing, wake and funeral for Helena Hicks, Ph.D., a distinguished Baltimore activist and civil rights leader, will be held May 6 and 7.
A viewing will take place from 3:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. on May 6, with a wake taking place and 10:00 a.m. until 10:30 a.m. on May 7, followed by a funeral, set to run from 10:30 a.m. until 11:30 a.m. Both ceremonies will be conducted at the Joseph H. Brown Funeral Home located at 2140 N. Fulton Ave. in Baltimore.
(Photos from AFRO Archives)
Hicks was 88 years old when she died on April 18, however she leaves a legacy of fighting for civil rights and justice for African Americans.
“She was a stalwart in the early civil rights movement as a student and she was a critical conscience of our community. Ms. Hicks gave her energy to many causes that impacted Baltimore City,” said Michael Mitchell, attorney, and former member of the Maryland State Senate. “She remained involved in political elections vital to our community; helping to elect our city’s first Black Congressman, my uncle, Parren J. Mitchell, our first Black judge, Joseph Howard, and our first Black state’s attorney, Milton B. Allen.
“She stayed involved and stayed committed, Mitchell continued. “I will be there to pay my respect. She was a freedom fighter like my grandmother, Lillie Mae Jackson, who headed the Baltimore Branch of the NAACP for thirty-five years. Helena came regularly and helped to register our community to vote.”
In the 1940’s, as part of the youth group formed by civil rights leader Lillie May Jackson and the NAACP; Helena Hicks participated in the picketing of the Ford’s Theater against their segregation policies.
Hicks was no stranger to raising a voice in protest, as she was among the five Morgan State University students to lead the charge against segregation policies in Baltimore. At the time, the institution was known as Morgan State College and students at the historically Black institution had a goal in mind: desegregate the counters inside the chain of Read Drug Stores operating throughout Charm City.
Reads Drug Stores opened up in Baltimore in 1934. Protests of the business centered around the drug store’s refusal to provide counter service to African Americans.
Black people were allowed to buy products at Read Drug Stores but could not sit at the lunch counters and be served. They could not drink from fountains or enjoy a sweet treat at their leisure. Protests against the store’s policies began in 1952, when a group of students staged sit-ins. The protest grew with the participation of the civil rights organization, Congress Of Racial Equality (CORE).
In 1955, the sit-in protest targeted several Read Drug Store locations throughout the city– including the Howard and Lexington Street Location and the Northwood Store.
On January 22, 1955, Read Drug Store President Arthur Nattans Sr. announced via the Baltimore AFRO American Newspaper, that his business would “serve all customers throughout our entire stores including the fountains, and this becomes effective immediately, “ he said.
In 1983 Read Drug Stores were purchased by Rite-Aid.
Civil Rights Attorney Ben Crump weighed in on Hick’s death, saying on social media that “a prominent Baltimore civil rights advocate has died. A steadfast voice for justice, she left an indelible impact.”
Hicks is the inspiration behind The Helena Hicks Emancipation School at the Billie Holiday Center for Liberation Arts at Johns Hopkins University.
Helena Hicks earned a Bachelor’s degree from Morgan State University, is a recipient of a Master’s Degree from Howard University and a Doctorate Degree from the University of Maryland College Park.
She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority and her professional career included employment with the Housing Authority of Baltimore, time as a social worker for the Department of Public Welfare and service as the director of the Office of Policy, Planning and Program for Baltimore’s Department of Human Resources.
Dr. Helena Hicks is survived by a daughter Lynne Wilson and a son Wayne Hicks.