Fannie Rosalind Hicks Givens (circa 1876-1947)

Artist, Teacher, Policewoman, Community and Political Activist

Fannie Rosalind Hicks was born in or near Chicago but moved to Louisville at a young age. Fannie’s parents were born in Kentucky and probably had been enslaved, as they are frequently referenced as having “migrated north” after the Civil War. Her death certificate lists her parents as unknown. She was probably born in 1876, but documents provide various birth dates. Her gravestone lists 1864 as a birth date. Fannie Hicks attended and taught at State University (later Simmons). In 1895, she married James Edward Givens, a graduate of Harvard and professor at State University. The couple had one adopted daughter, also named Fannie, who taught in the Louisville Public Schools. A nephew, James Givens, came to live with the Givens family at a relatively young age. He became a successful Louisville caterer and leader in the community. James, Fannie’s husband, died in 1910, and Fannie remained a widow until her death in 1947.

Fannie Givens was a renowned artist. She is listed in commercial ads in the Louisville City Directory under both artist and portrait artist, the only African American listed under those titles. She taught art lessons in her home on Finzer Street. Givens also served as head of the Art Department at State University and of the Kentucky Association of Colored Women. In her history of the National Association of Colored Women (NACW), Elizabeth Lindsay Davis calls her “an outstanding artist,” crediting her with portraits of presidents of the association as well as of “bank presidents and others of note.” Givens also painted a much-praised portrait of Booker T. Washington and of John Lewis Waller, U. S. Consul to Madagascar. The Waller portrait hung in the Harrison White House. Givens had public exhibits in major cities. In 1918, she, along with Mary Virginia Cook Parrish and William Spradling, incorporated the National Historical Art League to establish an Art school with a statuary hall. The Art League would hold events to give prizes for African Americans’ achievements in fine arts. Howard University agreed to donate a site for the school. Givens became president of the Art League and was honored in that capacity by the NACW as well as for her art exhibits at the National Convention. In 1920, the National Historical Art League held a conference at the Western Branch Library to discuss raising money for a National Hall of Fame for Negroes at Howard University. Apparently, the group was unable to raise enough funds for the Art League’s projects.

In 1927, Givens became Louisville’s second African American woman police officer, likely with help from local Republicans and from Ellis D. and Bertha Whedbee. Ellis Whedbee, a prominent Republican physician, had offered surety for her marriage to James Givens, and Bertha Whedbee had become the first African American Louisville policewoman. On her application, Givens claimed to be “one of the first voluntary workers for the Juvenile Court, and [had] kept a number of children in [her] home free of charge.” Census reports seem to verify this. She held the position of policewoman until 1938. A Courier Journal February 6, 1938, front page article, “City’s Policewomen Fired,” announced that two white women and two black women—Givens and Patsy Sloan--were “let go.” The women argued that their position was essential: they “search[ed] women prisoners, work[ed] with wayward girls, smooth[ed] over family quarrels, ma[d]e arrests on occasion and [did] police work investigating.” In her letter of appeal, Givens pointed specifically to rape cases and other work that should not be handled by men, and as a sign of the time, she referred to the great amount of work devoted to “location and investigation” required by “the enormous number of telegrams and letters seeking relatives whose whereabouts have been unknown since the [1937] flood.” As references, Givens listed police officers and officers of the court with whom she worked.

But Safety Director Sam H. McMeekin claimed the women had no specific duties. Although he had no complaints about them, he said, they were unnecessary political payoffs, and he would instead hire four strong patrol officers. Others protested, but Police chief John M. Malley dismissed them anyway. At least one writer to the Courier Journal objected, angrily insisting that whether rightly or wrongly arrested, “I’d just like to see one or four strong young cops lay hands on the women in my family.” He insisted that both white and black children in the South were raised by intelligent black women and would respond well to them if hauled into court. And Judge Neil Watson Funk lamented the firing of “four angels of the Police Department.” Funk spoke of the hundreds of mothers who had sought out the policewomen to counsel their children, and of the officers’ untiring and unselfish labor, often in the “muck and grime of the slums.” Malley told the women they could appeal, but the appeal went through McMeekin, who immediately dismissed the petitions. 

The Givenses, like many of those profiled here, were relatively affluent professionals, with an economically stable two-income household. Even after her husband’s death, Givens remained in their home, which had no mortgage, and travelled widely. As with many blacks, her adopted daughter and nephew, both of whom had good incomes, remained in the household as adults, and the census sometimes lists boarders, as well.

Givens was politically active, serving as GOP delegate from the 4th Ward beginning in 1921 and speaking in support of funding for the Ohio River Bridge in 1927. She was active in community and church functions. She served as President of the Baptist Women’s Missionary Convention, which cared for the indigent and encouraged children to attend Sunday school, and became Vice President of the East End Nursery at 726 South Preston Street (photo of the children in CJ 13 October 1929). 

Givens was active in national and international groups. She was a trustee of the Headquarters of the NACW. In 1922 she reported to the Twelfth Biennial meeting of the NACW on her recent trip to Africa. Her roles as representative of such groups as the NACW, the Baptist World’s Alliance, and America’s World Union of Women for International Concord and Peace allowed her to travel widely; she made at least five international trips. In 1931, she attended the White House Conference on Housing and Home Ownership and the Oscar DePriest Conference.

Givens was a member of 5th Street Baptist Church. She died in 1947 and is buried with her husband in Eastern Cemetery. Zeta Phi Beta Sorority has placed a plaque at her gravesite to honor her, as she served as national president of the organization.

Sources

Advocate: 15 August 1924.

American Baptist: 8 January 1904.

[Indianapolis] Freeman: 6 June 1908. 

The Crisis. v. 18, no. 4, August 1919 [Google Books].

Edward, William, ed. The Crisis. vols. 15-18, p. 202.

Davis, Elizabeth Lindsay.  Lifting as They Climb.” New York: G. K. Hall & Co., 1996 [1933]. 

Dunnigan, Alice Allison. The Fascinating Story of Black Kentuckians: Their Heritage and Traditions. Washington, D.C.: The Associated Publishers, Inc. 1982. 354.

Fannie Givens police personnel file, Jefferson County Archives.

Louisville City Directories: 1895-1900.

Louisville Courier-Journal: 25 May 1908; 5 January 1918; 20 October 1927; 13 October 1929; 17 December 1930; 6 February 1938; 6 August 1947.

Louisville Leader: 29 August 1925; 8 December 1928; 15 December 1928; 26 January 1929; 16 May 1931; 18 February 1933; 10 June 1933; 6 October 1934; 23 April 1938; 14 April 1939; 23 April 1939.

Parrish, C. H. Golden Jubilee of the General Association of Colored Baptists in Kentucky: The Story of 50 Years Work from 1865-1915, Including Many Photos and Sketches. Louisville: Mayes Printing Co., 1915. 252-53.

U. S. Census: 1870-1880; 1900-1940.

Washington Bee: 2 October 1909.

Williams, Lillian Serece, ed. Records of the National Association of Colored Women’s Clubs, 1895-1992. Bethesda, MD. University Publications of America, 1995. Reel 8, frames 702, 749; Reel 24, frame 425.