Louise Day Hicks

Louise Day Hicks
Hicks c. 1969
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from Massachusetts's 9th district
In office
January 3, 1971 – January 3, 1973
Preceded byJohn W. McCormack
Succeeded byJoe Moakley
President of the Boston City Council
In office
1976
Preceded byGerald O'Leary
Succeeded byJoseph M. Tierney
Member of the Boston City Council
In office
1979–1981
Preceded byJames Michael Connolly
Succeeded byJohn W. Sears
In office
1974–1978
In office
1970–1971
Succeeded byDapper O'Neil
Chair of the Boston School Committee
In office
1963–1965
Preceded byJoseph Lee
Succeeded byThomas S. Eisenstadt
Member of the Boston School Committee
In office
1961–1970
Personal details
Born
Anna Louise Day

(1916-10-16)October 16, 1916
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedOctober 21, 2003(2003-10-21) (aged 87)
Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Resting placeSaint Joseph Cemetery
West Roxbury, Massachusetts, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseJohn Hicks
Parent(s)William J. Day
Anna (née McCarron) Day
Alma materWheelock College (B.A., Education)
Boston University (B.S., 1952; J.D., 1955)

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. After the births of her two children, Hicks returned to school and completed a Bachelor of Science degree at Boston University in 1952. 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. 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.[1][2] 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.

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. In 1974, Hicks returned to the Boston City Council, and she served until 1978, including holding the council president's position in 1976. She lost reelection in 1977, but was appointed to fill a vacancy in 1979. She served until 1981, and was an unsuccessful candidate for reelection. Hicks died in Boston in 2003.

  1. ^ "Digital Commonwealth". www.digitalcommonwealth.org. Retrieved 2022-12-17.
  2. ^ "Reverend Vernon E. Carter watches car holding Sgt. John James and Louise Day Hicks during protest against school segregation outside Boston School Committee meeting". Picryl. 2015–2022. p. 1. Retrieved 2022-12-17.