Katie Hall

In the 1950s, Katie Hall was inspired to seek out a “world larger than Mississippi” after hearing speeches by visiting African-American Members of Congress in her hometown of Mound Bayou. Hall moved to Gary, Indiana, in 1960 and was active in local and state politics before winning a 1982 special election to the U.S. House of Representatives. She was the first Black Member of Congress from Indiana, and in a little more than two years on Capitol Hill she successfully led the House effort to create a federal holiday honoring Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Read more >>