Raynell Reid shows off a tribute plaque to her late uncle, Richmond Fire Capt. Harvey S. Hicks II, during a ceremony last Sunday at Mosby Memorial Baptist Church. The ceremony marked the 70th anniversary of the hiring of the first 10 black firefighters in Richmond and Virginia. Capt. Hicks died June 4, 1963, attempting the daring rescue of a city resident who was trapped in a 23-foot-deep pit. The church joined with Engine Company No. 9 and Associates, a nonprofit group that works to call attention to the city’s pioneering black firefighters and police officers, on the Black History Month program. Richmond hired the first black police officers in 1946 and the first black firefighters in 1950. At the time of his death, Capt. Hicks also was studying for the ministry and was to preach his trial sermon a few days later. As part of Sunday’s commemoration, Dr. Price L. Davis, pastor of the church at 2901 Mechanicsville Turnpike, preached the sermon that the firefighter had written.
