Robert "Bob" Hicks
(Feb. 20, 1929 - Apr. 12, 2010)
Fueled by discriminatory practices & violent intimidation that permeated his community, threatened his family & friends, Mr. Hicks developed an unquenchable thirst for justice & equality. He "sparked the spirits" of people & communities. His involvement in planning rallies, marches, daily demonstrations, boycotts, organizing armed protection for targets of racially & politically motivated violence, & initiating successful legal challenges helped topple segregation ending "separate but unequal" practices in education, employment, law, government, voting rights, healthcare & housing. As a NAACP member, Treasurer of Prince Hall Masons, President of Bogalusa Chapter of Deacons for Defense and Justice, Pres. of Crown Zellerbach's segregated Union (International Brotherhood of Pulp, Sulphite & Paper Mill Workers), and first African American supervisor in the mill's box plant, Hicks remained a staunch advocate for justice for all Americans and was an ordinary man with the courage to do extraordinary things.