Louise Day Hicks

Anna Louise Day Hicks (October 16, 1916 – October 21, 2003) was an American politician and lawyer from Boston, Massachusetts, best known for her staunch opposition to desegregation in Boston public schools, and especially to court-ordered busing, in the 1960s and 1970s.

A longtime member of Boston's school board and city council, she served one term in the United States House of Representatives, succeeding Speaker of the House John W. McCormack.

The daughter of a wealthy and prominent attorney and judge, Hicks attended Simmons College and received her qualification as a teacher from Wheelock College.

She worked as a first-grade teacher prior to marrying in 1942.

In 1942, she married John Hicks, an engineer, and they had two sons, John and William.

John Edward Hicks (b. 1945) had several brushes with the law, including a prison sentence for kidnapping.

Hicks stated that her father's death in 1950 left her resolved to follow in his footsteps.

At the time, female law students were still rare; Hicks was one of only nine women in her class of 232.

Hicks formed close friendships with two other female students, one Jewish and one black, and she studied for exams with a group made up of mostly minorities.

Hicks was admitted to the bar and practiced law with her brother John as the firm of Hicks and Day.

After the births of her two children, Hicks returned to school and completed a Bachelor of Science degree at Boston University in 1952.

Hicks earned a Bachelor of Science degree from BU in 1952, and a JD from Boston University Law School in 1955.

In 1955, she received a JD from Boston University Law School, attained admission to the bar, and entered into partnership with her brother as the firm of Hicks and Day.

In 1960, Hicks won election to Boston's school board, where she served until 1970, including holding the position of chairwoman from 1963 to 1965.

During her tenure on the school committee, she came into conflict with civil rights groups and black residents of Boston over her opposition to plans to integrate schools by busing students between districts to achieve racial balance.

Hicks ran successfully for the Boston School Committee in 1961, presenting herself as a reform candidate.

Her campaign slogan was "The only mother on the ballot", which was factually true, although her own children were not enrolled in any public schools.

In January 1963, she became the committee chairperson and seemed likely to be endorsed by the leading reform group when, in June, the Boston chapter of the NAACP demanded "an immediate public acknowledgment of de facto segregation in the Boston public school system."

In addition, for 114 days in the summer of 1965, the Reverend Vernon Carter, pastor of All Saints Lutheran Church in the Southend of Boston protested in front of the school committee building in which Hicks entered and exited frequently.

In 1967, she ran unsuccessfully for mayor of Boston.

From 1970 to 1971, she served on the Boston City Council.

In 1970, she won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House seat of the retiring John McCormack.

She went on to win the general election and serve one term, 1971 to 1973.

In 1971, she was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Boston.

She was defeated for reelection to Congress in 1972 by Joe Moakley, a Democrat who ran as an independent.

In 1974, Hicks returned to the Boston City Council, and she served until 1978, including holding the council president's position in 1976.

After leaving Congress, Hicks was the head of an anti-busing group, "Restore Our Alienated Rights" (ROAR), which remained active until a 1976 federal court decision mandated busing to achieve integration in public schools.

She lost reelection in 1977, but was appointed to fill a vacancy in 1979.

He disappeared in 1978, while he was facing more than 20 charges related to a 1977 incident in which he threatened harm to several customers inside a restaurant and then attempted to run over several of them in the parking lot.

John Hicks was still missing at the time of his mother's death.

Hicks studied home economics at Simmons College and then later earned a teaching certificate at Wheelock College.

She taught first grade in Brookline, Massachusetts, for two years and pursued a degree in education at Boston University.

She served until 1981, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection.

Hicks died in Boston in 2003.

Hicks was the daughter of William J. Day and Anna ( McCarron) Day.

Hicks described her father, a lawyer and an influential judge in Boston, as her "greatest influence".

The child of poor Irish immigrants, William Day became one of the wealthiest men in South Boston as a result of his law practice, real estate investments and his role as director of South Boston's Mount Washington Cooperative Bank.

Day was admired by Boston's Irish community; as a banker he provided assistance to families struggling to make mortgage payments and as a judge he was particularly lenient towards juvenile defendants.

In her own political career, Hicks would benefit from her father's reputation.

Hicks' mother died when Hicks was fourteen.