Hall, Katie Beatrice (1938—)

U.S. Democratic Congresswoman from Indiana (November 2, 1982–January 3, 1985). Born Katie Beatrice Green on April 3, 1938, in Mound Bayou, Mississippi; daughter of Jeff Louis Greene and Bessie Mae (Hooper) Greene; Mississippi Valley State University, B.S., 1960; Indiana University, M.S., 1968, postgraduate, 1972; married John H. Hall, on August 12, 1957; children: Jacqueline Hall ; Junifer Hall .

Serving only one full term in the House of Representatives, Katie Beatrice Hall introduced the bill that made the birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. a federal holiday. The bill was signed into law in November 1983.

Hall was born in 1938 in Mound Bayou, Mississippi, where she attended public school. She received a B.A. from Mississippi Valley State University in 1960 and an M.S. from Indiana University in 1968, after which she settled in Gary, Indiana, and became a teacher. She gained her early political experience working in the mayoral campaigns of Richard Hatcher and entered the political arena herself in 1974, becoming a member of the State House of Representatives. She was elected to the Indiana State Senate in 1976 and served until 1982. She also chaired the Lake County Democratic Committee from 1978 to 1980.

In September 1982, Hall made a successful bid for the congressional vacancy left by the death of Adam Benjamin, Jr., defeating Republican Thomas Krieger in the election and serving for the remainder of the 97th Congress and for the succeeding term. During her tenure, she was a member of the Committee on Post Office and Civil Service and the Committee on Public Works and Transportation. Concerned with the high rate of unemployment among her constituents

and the resultant erosion of family life, she supported the Fair Trade in Steel Act and the Humphrey-Hawkins bill, both aimed at increasing job opportunities. The latter also addressed child abuse and family violence issues.

Unsuccessful in her bid for renomination in 1984, Hall remained active in Democratic politics, serving as a state senator. She failed in two subsequent efforts to win nomination to Congress, in 1986 and 1990.

sources:

Office of the Historian. Women in Congress 1917–1990. Commission on the Bicentenary of the U.S. House of Representatives, 1991.