This story was originally published by Capital B Gary.
By Derreka Rollins
Capital B Gary
January 20, 2025
Katie Hall, a trailblazing congresswoman from Gary, played a pivotal role in the fight to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday. As the first Black woman to represent Indiana in Congress, Hall authored and sponsored the legislation honoring King’s legacy, ensuring his dream of justice and equality would be celebrated nationwide. Her leadership not only secured this historic recognition but also cemented her place as a key figure in civil rights history.
Capital B Gary spoke with her daughter, Junifer Hall, for more insight into her journey and legacy.
This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
Junifer Hall: My earliest memory of my mother working with the federal legislation to establish a national holiday for Dr. King was when she was a state senator in Indiana. This idea had come across her mind to author and sponsor legislation for the Dr. King holiday, but this would be for the state only.
When she ran and was elected to the United States Congress, this idea came to the forefront of her mind to do something to memorialize the birthday, life and legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. for his great contributions, not only to our nation but to the world. So, in 1983, this idea really came more pervasive to her.
Very great question. The challenges were not only in Washington or on a national level, but here in the state of Indiana. In her district, which was the 1st Congressional District, there was a lot of opposition, mainly from her constituency, those who lived in rural areas, and those challenges were based on race.
Most African Americans were just overjoyed with the possibility that for the first time in this nation’s history, there would or could possibly be a national holiday in honor of Dr. King, [but] some of her Caucasian constituents threatened her life. They told her they did not send her to Washington to try to get legislation for Martin Luther King.
On a national level, there was strong opposition in both the House of Representatives as well as the United States Senate, because some people view Dr. King as a communist.
I think her legacy is quite expansive, not only with the national holiday for Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., but as a state representative and Indiana state senator. She fought hard for education issues in the Indiana General Assembly. She worked on behalf of cities and towns, and a lot of people don’t know but right here in the city of Gary.
One of her major pieces of legislation in the Indiana Senate was the Gary Genesis [Convention] Center, Gary airport, Gary Deputy Mayor’s law … that said that in case the mayor at that time, who was Mayor [Richard] Hatcher, was unable to serve, there would be a vice president, so to speak, in the form of a deputy mayor. So her bills for education, she fought hard for the Gary schools as a member of the Indiana General Assembly, and for all other pieces of legislation that focused on equality justice, rape victims’ compensation, crime victims’ compensation. And as the U.S. representative, not only did she work for the King national holiday, but she fought for steel-working people unions. So the Paul Douglas environmental center out in Miller, she did work on that, and she worked hard for the transportation center after the death of U.S. Rep. Adam Benjamin Jr.
She would challenge the lack of African American-owned businesses right now. There’s no national brand on the market that is sold nationwide, no national hotel chain, no national manufacturer of cars or computers, and no national soft drink brand. These are the things I’m sure that she would challenge and ask why, after 400 years of African Americans’ presence in this country, these things are lacking severely.
She would be proud of Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first African American female on the U.S. Supreme Court, and, of course, of our vice president, Ms. [Kamala] Harris, and others who have broken through. But on the economic level, I’m sure she would have a lot of questions. And even with the national holiday itself, we don’t have a national product we can purchase to celebrate the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. national holiday. When we celebrate Valentine’s Day, we buy all of this delicious chocolate candy. For Easter, we get our Easter bunnies. For Halloween, we get our little pumpkin. And for Christmas, we put up our Christmas trees. But right now, no person is marketing a product in honor of the Dr. King national holiday, and that saddens me.
My mother was the first person in her family to ever attend college. So, in the spirit of the honorable Katie Hall, I would like to encourage our young generation to stay the course, no matter how difficult it may be. My mother had no idea, as a young cotton picker and cotton farmer during the 1950s, that she would ever go to the United States Congress, let alone author and sponsor a bill that would affect the lives of millions on the third Monday every January.
The public can donate to the Katie Hall Educational Foundation at P.O. Box 1305, Gary, IN, 46407.
Derreka Rollins is the Community Engagement Editor at Capital B Gary. Contact Derreka at derreka.rollins@capitalbnews.org
Capital B is a Black-led, nonprofit local and national news organization reporting for Black communities across the country.