The School City of Hammond joins the community in mourning the passing of Annie Burns-Hicks on Tuesday, September 17, at age 87.
A civil rights pioneer in Indiana, Burns-Hicks received her degree in education from Ball State University because she said, “I never saw a person like me in a classroom.” She student taught at the former Maywood Elementary but was denied the opportunity to teach there. Taking the advice of her father who told her, “This wall must come down,” they hired future Gary Mayor Richard G. Hatcher as their attorney. The federal case was successful citing the 14th Amendment, which makes it illegal to be denied a job because of race.
As the first African American teacher in Hammond, Burns-Hicks paved the way for others to become first in other areas. She was an inspiration and powerful influence for thousands of students and families over her impressive 40 year teaching career.
Her legacy will live on in the former Maywood Elementary School where she taught for 35 years. It was renamed Burns-Hicks in her honor in 2022, the same year she received the President's Medal of Distinction from Ball State University President Geoffrey Mearns.
In what she said was the proudest moment of her life, SCH Board Trustee Carlotta Blake-King made the motion to rename Maywood, and called Burns-Hicks “a civil rights pioneer, an educator, an innovator … the type of woman who demanded academic excellence.”
SCH Board President Cindy Murphy said, “I am proud to have been part of the School Board that voted to rename one of our schools after this courageous and inspiring woman.” And added, “The School City of Hammond will continue to honor her legend through the curriculum developed for all elementary students about the life of Annie Burns-Hicks so that young people will continue to be inspired to follow her example and their dreams.”
For more information SCH encourages you to watch the documentary “This Wall Must Come Down: The Annie Burns-Hicks Story” created by Hammond native Roland G. Parrish, available on YouTube
For more details and the obituary visit the Smith Bizzell & Warner Funeral Home website.