Coming of Age Home Page

Profiles in Sharing

Marie Hicks
Helping Others… as an Activist and then as a Volunteer

MARIE HICKSMarie Hicks’s volunteering is rooted in a history of political struggle.  A Black woman who was born and raised in Harlem, Marie married and moved to North Philadelphia in the 1960s, where she settled down within walking distance of Girard College. 
At that time, admission to the College was reserved for white, fatherless boys. And the College was enclosed by a high wall that isolated it from the predominantly Black community that surrounded it.
Marie refused to accept that.  She sued to get her sons accepted into the College, and with the support of prominent activist Cecil B. Moore and many others, one of her sons became the school’s first Black graduate.
After that groundbreaking case, Marie continued to provide much-needed support to her sons and others at the College who were discriminated against because of their race.
What does someone who has had such a life-changing impact on others’ lives do after that?  In Marie’s case, help more. 
She has worked with homeless women as a writer for Philadelphia’s Scoop newspaper.  She volunteers with the Center in the Park’s Intergenerational Programs, helping older Philadelphians like herself find meaning through community service. 
And she has set an example— for her sons and others.
Mindy Gilchrist, program coordinator for Center in the Park says, “She taught her children the value of doing for others, and now, as adults, they too are giving to their community.”       
For Marie, clearly, the lines blur: fighting for racial justice, setting an example for others; being a caring mother; volunteering; giving back.  
It really is all one.