The Deacons tense confrontation with the Klan in Bogalusa was crucial in forcing the federal government to intervene on behalf of the local African American community. Hicks’s home became a KKK bombing target after he provided living … Collins is the daughter of the late civil rights leader, Robert “Bob” Hicks.Collins was a teenager when things started to happen, saying “Bogalusa was just a small southern papermill town. Learn More → Deacons For Defense and Justice. Brumfield recalled the group’s run-ins with KKK members during their journey, especially in Livingston Parish.Klansmen “put logs and things across the road and they attacked us,” Jackie Hicks said.The Washington Parish marchers made it to the steps of the State Capitol, where National Guard soldiers and Louisiana state troopers guarded them as they rallied.Back home in 1971, Bob Hicks filed a lawsuit against Crown Zellerbach, which would not allow black workers to hold management positions despite the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The Robert Hicks House, in Bogalusa, Louisiana, was the home from 1965-1969 of civil rights leader Bob Hicks (1929-2010) ... On Feb 21, the Jonesboro Deacons for Defense & Justice visited Bogalusa to start a chapter citing the 2nd Amendment and carrying guns with the mission of protection against white aggression. But if the Deacons were around, they wouldn’t mess with you.”They didn’t stop in Bogalusa, however. Since then, the entire parish celebrates his life every year on his birthday.“I am very proud and have always been of my father because he stood up. They are threatened both by white vigilantes a… While shots were frequently exchanged between the Deacons and Klan groups, there is no record of anyone dying.Klansmen threatened to bomb Hicks’ house in February 1965 when he allowed two young white Congress of Racial Equality, or CORE, workers to stay the night.“It was fine with us, but the white people didn’t like it,” Jackie Hicks, 85, said. Second, threats to the lives of Deacons' members required them to maintain secrecy to avoid terrorist attacks. Her father, Robert Hicks, coordinated Civil Rights efforts there in the 1960s and led the 100-mile march to the State Capitol in Baton Rouge in 1967.Photo provided by Olivia McClure -- From left, State Sen. Ben Nevers, D-Bogalusa, Jackie Hicks with an unidentified granddaughter , and Elder Christopher Matthews of Bethlehem Baptist Church of Bogalusa during a march last weekend commemorating 1960s civil rights leader Robert Hicks.Photo provided by Olivia McClure -- Ronnie Moore (right) of New Orleans, a regional field secretary for CORE during the 1960s, marches next to former Deacons for Defense member Tommy Brumfield of Bogalusa during the dedication of a National Register of Historic Places marker last weekend in Bogalusa commemorating the late Robert Hicks, who led the fight for civil rights for blacks in Washington Parish during that period.Photo provided by Olivia McClure -- Jackie Hicks points to a photo of her husband, Bob, on the new National Registry historic marker in front of their former home in Bogalusa. on February 21, 1965 and organized it’s first affiliate chapter under the direction of Robert Hicks, Charles Sims, Bert Wyre, Aurilus “Reeves” Perkins, Sam Bonds, Fletcher Anderson and others. There, in 1965, Robert “Bob” Hicks rallied African-Americans to take up the fight for integration and civil rights. (NYT) David Codrea emailed me the sad news with a link to his obit here. In view of the police, these men loaded their shotguns. © 1998 - 2020 Nexstar Broadcasting, Inc. | All Rights Reserved. Photo provided by Olivia McClure -- Ronnie Moore (right) of New Orleans, a regional field secretary for CORE during the 1960s, marches next to former Deacons for Defense member Tommy Brumfield of Bogalusa during the dedication of a National Register of Historic Places marker last weekend in Bogalusa commemorating the late Robert Hicks, who led the fight for civil rights for blacks in Washington Parish during that period.Photo provided by Olivia McClure -- Jackie Hicks points to a photo of her husband, Bob, on the new National Registry historic marker in front of their former home in Bogalusa. They were called The Deacons for Defense and Justice. The Jonesboro Deacons came to Bogalusa, La. Robert Hicks passed away in 2010; he was 81 years-young. Robert “Bob” Hicks and the Deacons for Defense and Justice were pioneers. So Bob Hicks, and the League’s president AZ Young, called up the Deacons and said we want to start a chapter. My dad refused because there was a mob of Klu Klux Klansmen on Columbia street. The police ordered the fire truck to withdraw. The Foundation.