ENROLLED
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 262
BY REPRESENTATIVE WHITE
A RESOLUTION
To designate June 8, 2019, as Valeria Payton Hicks Day in Bogalusa and Washington
Parish.
WHEREAS, Valeria Payton Hicks is a native of the city of Bogalusa who was born
on June 8, 1929; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Hicks was married to the late civil rights leader, Robert "Bob"
Hicks, and has six children and numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren, in addition
to twenty-five children whom she has informally adopted in the Bogalusa community; and
WHEREAS, Valeria attended Central High School and graduated from Wesley Ray
High School; and
WHEREAS, as a young woman, Valeria Hicks remained so steadfast in her dream
to become a nurse that, when she was prevented from enrolling in the practical nursing
program in Bogalusa for racial reasons, she commuted to New Orleans daily until she
received her nursing license from the Booker T. Washington nursing program; and
WHEREAS, Valeria Hicks practiced nursing in hospitals in New Orleans and St.
Tammany Parish until her retirement, in addition to maintaining a reputation as the
neighborhood nurse for over fifty years; and
WHEREAS, in addition to her professional accomplishments, Mrs. Hicks has been
a lifelong member of the oldest African American Baptist church in Bogalusa, Bethlehem
Baptist Church, where she has served as church secretary, Sunday school teacher, and Bible
school teacher; and
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WHEREAS, as a devoted Christian, Mrs. Hicks is a daily Bible reader who also
spends much time in prayer and as a friend and advisor to many; and
WHEREAS, in her spare time, Valeria Hicks volunteers by serving on the Bethlehem
Harvest Food Giveaway Committee, an organization that distributes free food to needy
individuals and families in Bogalusa, thus evincing her unwavering commitment to caring
for the elderly, the sick, and the disadvantaged; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Hicks played a pivotal role in the civil rights movement in
Bogalusa by registering African Americans to vote and driving them to the polls,
participating in daily marches, traveling to speaking and fund-raising engagements across
the country, inviting national civil rights leaders into her home, and housing civil rights
workers for lengthy periods of time; and
WHEREAS, during her time as a civil rights activist, Mrs. Hicks participated in the
Million Man March, the Million Women March, and the Million Family March, all of which
took place in Washington, D.C.; and
WHEREAS, for her commitment and courageous contributions to civil rights,
Valeria Hicks was made an honorary deputy with the Washington Parish Sheriff's Office;
and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Hicks served on the executive board of the Bogalusa Civic and
Voters League and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and
also assisted her late husband in advocating for the cause of civil rights in Bogalusa; and
WHEREAS, at age ninety, Mrs. Hicks serves as the chief executive officer of the
nonprofit Robert "Bob" Hicks Foundation; and
WHEREAS, Mrs. Hicks and her family are featured in an oral interviews collection
at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture; and
WHEREAS, as a family woman, nurse, church member, community volunteer, and
civil rights activist, Valeria Payton Hicks deserves commendation for her immeasurable
contributions to the city of Bogalusa and to the state of Louisiana as a whole.
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
Legislature of Louisiana does hereby designate June 8, 2019, as Valeria Payton Hicks Day
in Bogalusa and Washington Parish and does hereby commend Mrs. Hicks for her personal,
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professional, spiritual, and political contributions to the people of the great state of
Louisiana.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to
Valeria Payton Hicks.
SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
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