This is one in a series of profiles marking the 60th anniversary of the ACLU of Kentucky’s founding. Each week through December 2015 we will highlight the story of one member, client, case, board or staff member that has been an integral part of our organization’s rich history.
Fred and Judy Hicks
Those who knew Fred Hicks say that he was not particularly active in social justice organizations until late in his life. Hicks was an anthropologist at the University of Louisville. His wife, Judy Hicks, was also an anthropologist who taught at different institutions in the area. After Judy was diagnosed with breast cancer, Hicks cut back on his work to take care of her, and after her death he was “at loose ends,” according to family friend and fellow ACLU-KY member Jan Phillips. “He’d done a lot of anthropological research and still had ties to that community, but he started getting involved in more and more here locally,” she said.
Judy Hicks and Jan Phillips first met through their civil rights work on the Southern Conference Educational Fund with Anne and Carl Braden, an issue that interested Fred as well. The ‘60s open housing movement in Louisville coincided with Fred and Judy’s decision to buy a house in the city, and they eventually picked a house in the West End.
“Fred and Judy bought their first and only house, where they lived for 50-some years, down at the very end of Broadway. When they moved in, the neighborhood was very integrated, but that began to change. The neighborhood became a black neighborhood and they were ‘the white people who live on our block,’” Phillips laughed. “But they never had any inclination or thoughts about moving. They had wonderful neighbors, and it was a great location.”
Fred maintained a steady membership in the ACLU-KY and often made small contributions to it in the final years of his life. When he died, the organization was pleasantly surprised to find that he had split his money among three organizations, including the ACLU-KY. “The ACLU clearly was very close to him, and he used his ability to spend money wisely and continue the work that was obviously important to him,” Phillips said.