HLS 19RS-2816 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 262
BY REPRESENTATIVE WHITE
SPECIAL DAY/WEEK/MONTH: Designates June 8, 2019, as Valeria Payton Hicks Day
in Bogalusa and Washington Parish
1 A RESOLUTION
2To designate June 8, 2019, as Valeria Payton Hicks Day in Bogalusa and Washington
3 Parish.
4 WHEREAS, Valeria Payton Hicks is a native of the city of Bogalusa who was born
5on June 8, 1929; and
6 WHEREAS, Mrs. Hicks was married to the late civil rights leader, Robert "Bob"
7Hicks, and has six children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, in addition
8to twenty-five children whom she has informally adopted in the Bogalusa community; and
9 WHEREAS, Valeria attended Central High School and graduated from Wesley Ray
10High School; and
11 WHEREAS, as a young woman, Valeria Hicks remained so steadfast in her dream
12to become a nurse that, when she was prevented from enrolling in the practical nursing
13program in Bogalusa for racial reasons, she commuted to New Orleans daily until she
14received her nursing license from the Booker T. Washington nursing program; and
15 WHEREAS, Valeria Hicks practiced nursing in hospitals in New Orleans and St.
16Tammany Parish until her retirement, in addition to maintaining a reputation as the
17neighborhood nurse for over fifty years; and
18 WHEREAS, in addition to her professional accomplishments, Mrs. Hicks has been
19a lifelong member of the oldest African American Baptist church in Bogalusa, Bethlehem
20Baptist Church, where she has served as church secretary, Sunday school teacher, and Bible
21school teacher; and
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HR NO. 262
1 WHEREAS, as a devoted Christian, Mrs. Hicks is a daily Bible reader who also
2spends much time in prayer and as a friend and advisor to many; and
3 WHEREAS, in her spare time, Valeria Hicks volunteers by serving on the Bethlehem
4Harvest Food Giveaway Committee, an organization that distributes free food to needy
5individuals and families in Bogalusa, thus evincing her unwavering commitment to caring
6for the elderly, the sick, and the disadvantaged; and
7 WHEREAS, Mrs. Hicks played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement in
8Bogalusa by registering African Americans to vote and driving them to the polls,
9participating in daily marches, traveling to speaking and fund-raising engagements across
10the country, inviting national civil rights leaders into her home, and housing civil rights
11workers for lengthy periods of time; and
12 WHEREAS, during her time as a civil rights activist, Mrs. Hicks participated in the
13Million Man March, the Million Women March, and the Million Family March, all of which
14took place in Washington, D.C.; and
15 WHEREAS, for her commitment and courageous contributions to civil rights,
16Valeria Hicks was made an honorary deputy with the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office;
17and
18 WHEREAS, Mrs. Hicks served on the executive board of the Bogalusa Civic and
19Voters League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and
20also assisted her late husband in advocating for the cause of civil rights in Bogalusa; and
21 WHEREAS, at age ninety, Mrs. Hicks serves as the chief executive officer of the
22nonprofit Robert "Bob" Hicks Foundation; and
23 WHEREAS, Mrs. Hicks and her family are featured in an oral interviews collection
24at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; and
25 WHEREAS, as a family woman, nurse, church member, community volunteer, and
26civil rights activist, Valeria Payton Hicks deserves commendation for her immeasurable
27contributions to the city of Bogalusa and to the state of Louisiana as a whole.
28 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
29Legislature of Louisiana does hereby designate June 8, 2019, as Valeria Payton Hicks Day
30in Bogalusa and Washington Parish and does hereby commend Mrs. Hicks for her personal,
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HR NO. 262
1professional, spiritual, and political contributions to the people of the great state of
2Louisiana.
3 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
4Valeria Payton Hicks.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 262 Original 2019 Regular Session White
Designates June 8, 2019, as Valeria Payton Hicks Day in Bogalusa and Washington Parish.
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