William Henry Hicks (August 27, 1925 – September 3, 1987) was an American

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

politician. He served in the

New Jersey General Assembly The New Jersey General Assembly is the lower house of the New Jersey Legislature. Since the election of 1967 (1968 Session), the Assembly has consisted of 80 members. Two members are elected from each of New Jersey's 40 legislative districts for ...

encompassing

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

president of that body.

Early life and education

He was born in

Littleton, North Carolina Littleton is a town in Halifax County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 674 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina Micropolitan Statistical Area. History Littleton was named after William Little, a ...

and resided in Paterson since 1935. He attended Paterson Public Schools and earned a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in education from

William Paterson College William Paterson University, officially William Paterson University of New Jersey (WPUNJ), is a public university in Wayne, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. Founded in 1855 and was named after American ju ...

Career

Hicks served in the

United States Naval Air Corps A naval aviator is a commissioned officer or warrant officer qualified as a crewed aircraft pilot in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps. United States Coast Guard crewed aircraft pilots are officially designated as "Coast Guar ...

and worked as a car salesman. In 1966, Hicks was elected as an alderman on the Paterson City Commission from the city's fourth ward and served three terms through 1971. He was chosen to serve as president of the commission and was the first African American to be the leader of the board. In 1971, Hicks was elected to the General Assembly from District 14B encompassing Paterson and West Paterson. In 1973, he was reelected to the Assembly in the new

35th Legislative District Military units *35th Fighter Wing, an air combat unit of the United States Air Force *35th Infantry Division (United States), a formation of the National Guard since World War I *35th Infantry Regiment (United States), a regiment created on 1 July 1 ...

(encompassing Paterson,

North Haledon North Haledon (pronounced North HAIL-don) is a borough in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the borough's population was 8,417,Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...

) alongside Democrat Vincent O. Pellecchia. However, in 1975, he lost reelection coming in fourth place behind

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Ronald Fava, incumbent Pellecchia, and Republican Ralph E. Faasse.

Personal life

He had been married to Bernice Louise Manners and was later married to Margaret Adlia Long. He had four children. Hicks died on September 3, 1987.

References

1925 births 1987 deaths People from Littleton, North Carolina Politicians from Paterson, New Jersey William Paterson University alumni Democratic Party members of the New Jersey General Assembly New Jersey city council members African-American state legislators in New Jersey 20th-century American legislators 20th-century African-American politicians 20th-century New Jersey politicians {{NewJersey-politician-stub