Katie Hall was born in 1938 in Mound Bayou, Mississippi. She graduated from Mississippi Valley State University in 1960. She then moved to Bloomington, Indiana to start her master’s degree at Indiana University.[1] She later taught social studies in Gary, Indiana, where she lived with her husband and their three children. Hall took part in local Gary political campaigns in the 1960s.[2] She was elected to the Indiana House of Representatives from 1974 to 1976, and to the Indiana Senate from 1976 to 1982. In 1982, Hall was nominated to represent her district from northern Indiana in the United States House of Representatives. White Democrats were concerned about her electability because of her race.[3] Gary’s population was primarily black, but Hall’s district was 70% white.[4] She nonetheless won with 56% of the vote and became the first black woman from Indiana elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.[5] Veteran lawmaker William Gray III stated: “She brought freshness of approach, a spirit of reconciliation to what had sometimes been a bitter battle.”[6]  

Hall supported the reduction of urban and industrial unemployment in her district, and also supported a number of measures to solve crime, alcohol and drug abuse, particularly in cities. She endorsed the Fair Trade in Steel Act, a measure designed to revitalize Gary’s crumbling steel and manufacturing industry.[7] In addition to domestic concerns, Hall became involved in the fight against famine in Africa after a visit to Ethiopia.[8]

In 1983, Hall introduced a bill to make Martin Luther King’s birthday a federal holiday stating that for him “equality always prevailed.”[9] This bill had detractors that criticized the large cost of a paid  holiday for federal employees, and several Republican senators questioned the legitimacy of King’s legacy. President Ronald Reagan signed the bill into law in November 1983, and the first Martin Luther King, Jr. Day occurred in January 1986.[10]

After retiring from Congress, she served as the vice chair of Gary’s housing board and became the city clerk in 1985. Hall passed away on February 20, 2012 in Gary, Indiana. Her work and legacy is immortalized in a marker from the Indiana Historical Bureau, installed in 2019, highlighting her effort to make Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day a reality.

[1] United States Congress. "Katie Hall (id: H000058)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress. P.124
[2] House Office of History and Preservation. Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007. Edited by Matthew Wasniewski. Third edition. Washington: United States Congress, 2008. P.530
[3] Ibid. P.532
[4] Catlin, Robert A. "Organizational Effectiveness and Black Political Participation: The Case of Katie Hall." Phylon 46 (September 1985). P.179
[5] Ibid. P.190
[6] House Office of History and Preservation. Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007. Edited by Matthew Wasniewski. Third edition. Washington: United States Congress, 2008. P.530
[7] Ibid.
[8] United States Congress. "Katie Hall (id: H000058)". Biographical Directory of the United States Congress.
[9] House Office of History and Preservation. Black Americans in Congress, 1870-2007. Edited by Matthew Wasniewski. Third edition. Washington: United States Congress, 2008. P.532
[10] Origin of MLK Day Law. Indiana Historical Bureau. Accessed February 10, 2020.