Oral History Interview with Hannah Atkins

Oral History Interview

with

Hannah Atkins

Interview Conducted by Tanya Finchum June 22, 2007

Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project

Oklahoma State University Library Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project

Interview History

Interviewer: Tanya Finchum Transcriber: Jill Minahan Editors: Tanya Finchum, Juliana Nykolaiszyn

The recording and transcript of this interview were processed at the Oklahoma State University Library in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Project Detail

The purpose of the Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project is to gather and preserve memories and historical documents of women who have served or are currently serving in the Oklahoma Legislature.

This project was approved by the Oklahoma State University Institutional Review Board on November 10, 2006.

Legal Status

Scholarly use of the recordings and transcripts of the interview with Hannah Atkins is unrestricted. The interview agreement was signed on June 22, 2007.

Oklahoma State University Library Women of the Oklahoma Legislature Oral History Project

Hannah Atkins – Brief Biography

Hannah Atkins was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on November 1, 1923. Valedictorian of her high school class, she then earned her undergraduate degree in 1943 from St. Augustine College in Raleigh, North Carolina, and went on to complete a degree in library science at the University of Chicago in 1949. Married to Charles Atkins in 1943, she taught French in the Chicago public school system while he attended medical school. She took courses at the School of Law at Oklahoma City University and in 1989 she earned a Master’s of Public Administration at the University of Oklahoma. She was chosen to attend the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at the John F. Kennedy School of Government of Harvard University in 1987. Mrs. Atkins also holds a certificate from the Executive Leadership Development Program at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs of the University of Texas, Austin.

Mrs. Atkins was the first African-American woman elected to the Oklahoma State House of Representatives, where she served six two-year terms, from 1968 to 1980. She was the first female to serve as Chair of a committee when she was chosen to lead the Public and Mental Health Committee. She was appointed as a U.S. Delegate to the 35th General Assembly of the United Nations by President Jimmy Carter after her term in the House was complete. Mrs. Atkins was a national committee member to the Democratic National Committee for eight years and served as commissioner to the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. As Assistant Director of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services she headed the Aging Services Division. Appointed Cabinet Secretary of Social Sciences the same year, Atkins was appointed dual positions as Secretary of State and Secretary of Human Resources by Republican Governor Henry Bellmon in 1987, making her the highest ranked woman in Oklahoma state government until her retirement in 1991.

Inducted into both the Oklahoma Women’s Hall of Fame and the Afro-American Hall of Fame in 1983, Atkins has received many prestigious honors. She received the National Governor’s Association Award for Distinguished Service to State Government in 1990 and is listed in Who’s Who in America as well as Who’s Who in Politics. In 1992, after holding various teaching positions at the University of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City University, and Oklahoma State University, the Political Science Department at OSU honored Mrs. Atkins with the Hannah Atkins Professorship for Political Science and Government, sponsored by many supporters. She has been active in numerous community organizations serving often as an officer or on the board of directors. Some groups she has been involved with include the National Women’s Education Fund, Women Executives in State Government, the Joint Center for Political Studies, the National Board of American Civil Liberties Union, National Black Child Development Institute, National Board of Trans-Africa, NAACP, and the Urban League, among many others. She served as president of the Oklahoma Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration and was chairwoman of the Oklahoma Advisory Committee of the United States Commission on Civil Rights for ten years. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and is a licensed lay reader in the Episcopal Church.

Charles and Hannah Atkins have three children, Edmund, Charles Jr., and Valerie.

Oklahoma State University Library Women of the Oklahoma Legislature: Past and Present Oral History Project

Hannah Atkins

Oral History Interview

Interviewed by Tanya Finchum June 22, 2007 Silver Spring, Maryland

Finchum My name is Tanya Finchum. I’m here in Silver Spring, Maryland to speak with Hannah Atkins who was in the House of Representatives from 1968 until 1980, in Oklahoma. This is part of the Oklahoma State University Library’s project called “Women of the Oklahoma Legislature,” and this is June 22, 2007. Thank you so much for talking with us today.

Atkins I’m happy to be a part of your, I started to say campaign. (Laughter) I’m honored to include my memoirs and history.

Finchum We’re glad to have you. Give us a little bit of background, where you were born and how you came to be in Oklahoma.

Atkins I was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, number five in a family of six children. I was brought up with a very loving and caring mother and father. They both were well educated, and my father always said— there were the four sisters—he would sit us down and say, “Now you all are attractive young ladies, and you could get married, but I’m going to insist that you get at least your bachelor’s degree and I hope you’ll go on and at least get a master’s.” And, fortunately, each one of us did.

Somehow I was the first of the girls to get married (Laughs) and others did get married later. I was the only one to have children, and I was a very proud parent of two sons and a daughter, and now grandma. I have two grandsons. I keep saying, “I want a great-grandchild. I want a great- grandchild.” (Laughter) But I don’t see that in the near future.

Finchum And how did you come to be in Oklahoma?

Atkins My husband knew someone. He had a friend there, and they said, “They need doctors here badly.” And my husband went out there in January and visited with his friend there, and said, “They really need doctors

badly. There’s only one doctor here in the African American community,” and he brought back snapshots of himself and his friend in shirt sleeves in January. I said, “In January, outside in their shirt sleeves—that’s the place to be.” (Laughs) I said, “That looks like Florida.” (Laughs) We got there [Oklahoma] lock, stock and barrel without my ever having been there. We packed up and had everything hauled there, and the people welcomed us with open arms. It was like being in a southern town. Everybody was friendly from day one.

Finchum Did you have your children there?

Atkins Yes. We were there for “umpteen” years. (Laughs) Yes, indeedy.

Finchum And what got you interested in politics?

Atkins Well, I’ve always been concerned about things in the community. We built a house on a hillside and it had a very large patio, and every Fourth of July I would invite friends out there. We would just sit out there and have snacks and discuss. One year, an African American who was in the House of Representatives decided not to run and they were going around saying who would run, and everybody had a real excuse. So they finally got to me, and said, “Hannah, you can run. You can run.” I said, “Oh, no. I wouldn’t want to do that.” But they twisted my arm and so I finally ended up running and won without any problems.

Finchum Was your opponent male or female?

Atkins There were several. They were all male. I was the only female running.

Finchum And you beat them.

Atkins Yes.

Finchum Do you remember the day you were sworn in?

Atkins I remember the occasion, yes. It was very moving.

There were several who were running at the same time, but when it boiled down to the last two, my opponent said, “She’s a tea-sipping lady.” (Laughs) Like that was terrible, you know. In Oklahoma, you drank beer twenty-four hours a day…“She’s a tea-sipping lady,” like that was something negative, but I won each time. I ran six times and won each time.

Finchum And the day you were sworn in…

Atkins My husband, of course, was there, yes. It was a very moving experience.

Finchum And the first time you debated a bill on the floor?

Atkins I don’t remember it, but I got more bills passed that time than any other person in the House because I was an early bird. I would go out to the Capitol early and have breakfast with the “good ‘ole boys.” At breakfast, we would sit around while they were sipping on their coffee and decide who was gonna speak for this bill and who was gonna speak for that one, and who would vote, and then we would trade off, you know. You vote for me and I’ll vote for you—and so I got in with the “good ‘ole boys,” and they didn’t run me away. They let me join in, and if it was a good bill, I would say, “Yes, I’ll support that.” And sometimes my vote was the crucial vote, and that’s how the breakfast meetings worked out.

Finchum They needed you as much as you needed them.

Atkins That’s right, and so many times one vote would make the difference, so I was inside…outside but not quite inside, but enough inside to get things done. I got more of my bills passed than anybody else, just by getting up early and going out there and having coffee with the other legislators. Well, I had tea, they had coffee. (Laughs) And they still call me the “tea- sipping lady.” (Laughter)

Finchum Did you notice a difference with being a woman—part of the happenings there?

Atkins Of course. They made it a difference. They weren’t accustomed to having women involved that much in politics. They would get women to help with their campaigns, but they weren’t inside negotiating on who’s gonna support this bill and who’s gonna support that, but I was there involved in everything because I was there early, between 7:00 and 7:30 every morning, yes.

Finchum And then stayed how long? Long day?

Atkins Of course, legislation wasn’t over early. I’ve always had what I call good work ethics. I was brought up to, whatever you do, put all your talents into it. That’s what my mother and father taught us. Don’t shortchange any job because you end up being shortchanged.

Finchum And if you were there twelve years, you ran six times.

Atkins And won six times.

Finchum You won six, and you chose not to run for the seventh time, correct?

Atkins I was appointed Oklahoma Secretary of State by a republican governor.

Finchum Were you the first woman to hold that position, in Oklahoma anyway?

Atkins Yes. Governor Bellmon was a republican, and here I was what they call a, “yellow dog democrat.” He was criticized for that. Others would say, “How dare you appoint a democrat to that high position.” And he said, “She’s the best person for the job,” and that was it.

Finchum That was it.

Atkins He was very supportive all the way, a wonderful person.

Finchum Did you have any problems, besides being a democrat and being a woman?

Atkins Oh, yes. Oh, sure, but I just ignored it. (Laughter) Don’t let things get you down, if you decide they’re not gonna get you down.

Finchum You were involved with the ERA [Equal Rights Amendment] legislation, trying to get it passed…

Atkins Oh, yes. Oh, definitely.

Finchum And the other woman in the legislature was Jan Turner?

Atkins Yes.

Finchum And she was against it from what I’ve read.

Atkins There was another woman. I was there twelve years so I wasn’t the only woman all the time…

Finchum I think during your twelve years, there were eleven. Counting you, there were twelve different women.

Atkins Yes, but not all at the same time.

Finchum Not all at the same time. And your children were young at that time and you could stay at home. Other women had to move—have an apartment in the city. They were from Tulsa or further out.

Atkins Well, my home was way on the outskirts of town, just barely inside of Oklahoma City. I built there because it was on a beautiful hillside. Then I found out it was, “Tornado Alley.” (Laughs) My house was hit three times by a tornado.

Finchum Oh, gosh.

Atkins And I was there each time alone except once my daughter was there and I rushed her into one of the bathrooms and so she wasn’t hurt. But once it took the west wing, once the east wing, then the north wing. The insurance man said, “Hannah, don’t you get the message? Move.” (Laughs) But my husband just loved that hillside, and so as long as he was alive, we stayed there. Yes—weathered the storm.

Finchum It didn’t run you off. At some point they were trying to change the abbreviation for the state from O-K-L-A to O-K.

Atkins Yes. Yes.

Finchum Which one were you for at that time?

Atkins Keep it O-K.

Finchum That’s been awhile back, hasn’t it?

Atkins Yes, indeedy.

Finchum And then I read in the newspaper that you were afraid your office phone had been tapped?

Atkins I knew it had been tapped.

Finchum You knew it?

Atkins Yes. The FBI thought I was a Communist because my motto was, “Planning with People for Progress,” and so if you’re with people, then you’re a Communist. So they wire tapped my phone for awhile to be sure that I wasn’t connected with Communists in Russia or somewhere else. Yes, they did. They thought I was a Communist.

Finchum How did you find it, or how did you come to think that it was tapped?

Atkins They told me after awhile, they admitted that they were tapping.

Finchum Oh, okay.

Atkins Yes. Yes, they did.

Finchum When you campaigned, who was your campaign manager?

Atkins I had several different ones, but…

Finchum Men or women?

Atkins …behind the scenes, my husband was the best advisor.

Finchum And did you knock on doors and hand out brochures and all that?

Atkins Oh, I did that in most of the neighborhoods. You know that Oklahoma City was very much segregated. There were African American neighborhoods and whites, and it used to be that on the day of elections, the big money folks would come with the limousines and pick up people and take them to vote in the black neighborhoods. But I went around with my sons and campaigned door to door. They had never been asked to vote like that by a candidate, and they came. I went to the various churches and shook hands with people after the ceremonies and all, and that was something they never had because in those days, big money would just come over there and take people in their limousines and take them to vote, and that was it. But I changed that.

I dealt with it person by person. We went door to door, and my little sons went with me and, of course, they were cute (Laughter) and that helped people open their doors when they saw this mamma and her boys. (Laughter) Yes, and I think that’s how I got elected.

Finchum At least the first time. The second time, they probably knew you were doing a good job.

Atkins Well, I hope so. Yes, indeedy.

Finchum Yes.

Atkins Yes. I devoted my time to it.

Finchum And do you remember a lady named Texanna Hatchett?

Atkins Yes.

Finchum She was there for one or two terms…

Atkins Yes, she was.

Finchum …I believe, with you.

Atkins Oh, yes.

Finchum And I don’t know if she was a democrat or a republican, but…

Atkins She was a democrat, I think…if I remember correctly.

Finchum And then at some point you taught at OSU [Oklahoma State University]?

Atkins I taught at OU [University of Oklahoma], OSU and Oklahoma City University, all three universities. I enjoyed that very much.

Finchum What do you recall about OSU?

Atkins Well, the people were very friendly, the staff, and I still hear from some of the faculty members occasionally—very friendly, and I enjoyed it. The only problem was I didn’t like driving up to Stillwater and back. (Laughter) One time my car broke down and if I hadn’t had AAA insurance, I would have been stranded but fortunately a trooper passed by and saw me with a flat tire, and he called AAA for me and then drove me to a service station. People were so nice. Oklahoma is the friendliest—like a southern town—friendly people.

Finchum Where did you teach at OSU? Was it public administration or…

Atkins Yes, public administration, and I taught at Oklahoma City University and at OU. Yes.

Finchum And you have a library degree?

Atkins Yes. I was a librarian. I still am a book-aholic. (Laughter) I still collect too many books. I gave away about a thousand of them when I moved here, but we grew up surrounded by books as children, and when my Dad was in general contracting—when he’d return from South Carolina or wherever, he’d always bring us books instead of candy and junk things. He’d bring us books.

Finchum And you were a member of the Oklahoma Library Association’s executive board…

Atkins Yes.

Finchum …for awhile? You know this year is its one hundredth year.

Atkins Doesn’t time fly? My goodness, one hundred years. I wasn’t here at the beginning (Laughs).

Finchum No, you weren’t.

Atkins Not quite.

Finchum Not quite. You were a law librarian, is that correct?

Atkins I was law librarian there at the State Capitol. That’s how they twisted my arm and got me to run. They said, “Well, there’s a vacancy. And since you’ve been the law librarian here, you’d be the top-notch candidate.”

Here I was, a little shy librarian (Laughter) and had to get up—and my husband was an excellent speaker. He said, “Just find someone in one of the first few rows and make eye contact with them and then you’re talking to someone not just a big audience,” and it worked. I learned how to talk to a group, and I used to tremble very much, being a shy librarian I dreaded the idea, but I got where I felt comfortable.

Finchum And you had to do a lot of that over the years.

Atkins Oh, yes, indeedy. Yes I did. I was invited to speak at churches and schools and everything, and you learn something every place you go.

Finchum Did you usually talk about women in politics or just about anything?

Atkins Just whatever they asked me to.

Finchum And then you went to China?

Atkins I’ve been to China, Japan, everywhere—and, of course, all over Europe.

Finchum And most of the time the only woman in the group?

Atkins Well, not always. Have you heard of Elder Hostel?

Finchum Yes.

Atkins I frequently travel with that group now because my husband—neither of my husbands cared to travel, so I felt better traveling with a group like that where you had a leader and somebody, you know, and you felt safe that way.

Finchum You went with a group of state legislators at one point?

Atkins Yes.

Finchum You’ve been in some unchartered territories, haven’t you?

Atkins Yes, but the main thing is I’ve enjoyed everything that I’ve done and I’ve learned something every step of the way.

Finchum Can you think of anything in particular that you have learned that you want to share?

Atkins I learned that everyone has something to offer. Each person is a unique individual, and they have something to offer. You can learn something from everyone.

Finchum Well, we can learn something from you.

Atkins My dad taught that to us. He said, “Everyone is deserving of respect,” and we will talk to everybody, whether it’s a yard man or a trash man or whatever, and we were to address them by, “Mister.” We were brought up that way in the south. My mother and father were very concerned about giving every human being respect.

Finchum How much campaigning finances did you have the first time?

Atkins I refused to accept anything more than a hundred dollars. Most of my money came in at twenty-five dollars or less—lots of small donations. I refused to accept big money because my dad said, “If you accept, then you’re obligated to somebody and you should not be obligated to anyone. You should feel free to vote your conscience,” and that’s the way I operated.

Finchum For all six campaigns?

Atkins Oh, definitely, yes.

Finchum Campaign finances have gone up.

Atkins Oh, my, yes. But I put in some of my money in each one of the campaigns, too. It got expensive to buy radio time.

Finchum And now they’ve got signs they stick up everywhere.

Atkins Yes. Oh, yes. Well, I usually would buy radio time when the regular driving people would be driving home from work. I’d buy radio time for that, and I knew what the popular radio stations were and with the little money I had, I would buy that time. I’d buy that early in the campaign before it all got bought up.

Finchum Once you were in the House, did you do some of your own research when you were pushing a bill through?

Atkins Of course. Yes, indeedy.

Finchum That was before they had staff to help with it?

Atkins Well, we had staff, but they would be assigned to two or three different ones. I still hear from one of my staff people.

Finchum Really?

Atkins Still in touch, yes.

Finchum That’s great. Where was your office?

Atkins I was on the third floor once and then they moved it around, you know.

Finchum And from what I’ve gathered, the chambers were always cold so the women had to wear an extra jacket or a sweater.

Atkins I always came prepared, yes. (Laughter) And one time I brought a little—one of those little blankets, (Laughs) and one of my seat mates’ little son would come in, would run up and hop on my lap, and guess who? Brad Henry.

Finchum Really?

Atkins The Governor. And his dad and I were seat mates, and Brad was a little boy and so much fun. He’s doing a good job as Governor.

Finchum He is. You knew a lot of people.

Atkins Well, if you’re around there for twelve years…

Finchum And in politics longer—I mean, in the Secretary of State and then…

Atkins Oh, yes. Political arena, not politics.

Finchum Okay. I learned something today, too.

Atkins I would go there every morning and sit down with the old gang at breakfast time, where we’d decide who would vote for whose bill and who would sign on as the co-author and all that, and I found that that’s where you get the work done, in these informal meetings. It’s all just cut and dry by the time you get to the session open…and I was the only woman that would be there most of the time. Yeah.

Finchum I wonder if anyone else has picked up on that secret?

Atkins I don’t know. (Laughter)

Finchum And you were on the Commission on the Status of Women?

Atkins Yes.

Finchum I don’t really know much about that. Can you tell me about it?

Atkins We were trying to push for equality for women because in most of the occupations, for the same job, employers paid men more than women, and so we fought that and had success. We were able to pass a bill. It took a couple of years to get the bill passed, but we did it.

Finchum And then someone later started taking out the terms in the statutes that had to do with gender?

Atkins Yes.

Finchum So that took awhile, too, from what I understand.

Atkins Oh, yes. Yes, it did. You’ve been doing a little research.

Finchum A little bit. I’ll have to remember “political arena”…instead of “politics.”

Atkins Yes, indeedy.

Finchum And, let’s see, what else? You were a member of the U.S. delegation to the United Nations.

Atkins That was one of the greatest experiences in my life. President Jimmy Carter appointed me and I occupied the same seat that Eleanor Roosevelt did. That gave you a tremendous feeling, and to work with the top officials from all over the world was a terrific experience.

Finchum And you had to travel to do that?

Atkins New York. The United Nations headquarters is in New York so that’s where I went. That was a great experience—one of the greatest in my life.

Finchum And how long did you do that?

Atkins Four years. I learned a great deal.

Finchum You got to shake his [President Carter’s] hand a couple of times, I’ll bet?

Atkins Oh, of course, yes. I still hear from him. Yes.

Finchum His was the first presidential race I got to vote in.

Atkins Is that right?

Finchum And I voted for him.

Atkins Now you’re telling me how old you are. (Laughter) Yeah, he was terrific, caring—he didn’t get the credit that he deserved.

Finchum Right.

Atkins But he was so quiet and unassuming—and most of them, you know, are gonna promote themselves, but he was not that kind of person. He was out to do good, to help people, and he did.

Finchum He was a southern gentleman.

Atkins Yes. I hear from him and Rosalynn occasionally. Yes, indeedy. I still make contributions to their foundation, too. They do some good things. He was an underappreciated president because he was quiet and unassuming.

Finchum So you hear from a lot of people. I’ll bet you have a long Christmas list when you send out Christmas cards?

Atkins Oh, I do. (Laughter) Yes, indeedy.

Finchum Okay, and when you were campaigning, you had a group of kids called “Hannah’s Helpers?”

Atkins Oh, yes. Nobody had ever had that kind of help. They would go door to door. My sons were kind of the leaders, and that just opened doors for people who had never had even a politician come directly and ask them to do it. I would campaign for months going door to door and with my kids. “Vote for my mom. Vote for my mom.” I was even on TV, and my dad had predicted that, “You’re gonna be on the front page of the newspaper,” and sure enough, I was. That was sparked because it was so unique to see children campaigning for mamma. “Vote for my mom”— my little son would carry a sign, and that got people’s eye.

Finchum I’ll have to go back and see if I can find the picture from the newspaper.

Atkins They have it in the archives at the Oklahoma State University now.

Finchum Okay. I’ll look. So “Hannah’s Helpers” were kids about the age of your son?

Atkins Right. They were mostly his friends. Yes.

Finchum And did you have, when you were in office, a mentor, a role model for yourself that you aspired to be like?

Atkins Well, Governor Bellmon. I admired him so much. He was republican and I was what they called a “yellow dog democrat.” But he was a man of high morals and integrity and really cared about people. He’s the one that comes to mind. I’m sure I had others, but he was really a good role model and a strong person. He was criticized when he appointed me Secretary of State. “Here she is a ‘yellow dog democrat’ and an African American woman, and you put her in that high position.” He said, “I want the best person for the job, and she is the best person.” That was it.

Finchum What type of things did you do in that position?

Atkins Secretary of State? Oh, my goodness—you want—you got a couple of hours? (Laughs)

Finchum Well, just…

Atkins It was a kind of catch-all—everything would end up on my lap. We had to, of course, approve businesses—approval and oversaw a number of state agencies and all. It was a hodgepodge of all kind of things.

Finchum Had to manage a budget?

Atkins Oh, definitely. Oh, yes. Yes, indeedy. But Governor Bellmon stood up right there beside me. He said, “She is the best person for the job. That’s why I appointed her.” That was quite an experience, too. Yes.

Finchum Going from eastern North Carolina to being the Secretary of the State [of Oklahoma]. That’s a long way.

Atkins Yes.

Finchum And not necessarily easy.

Atkins Not easy. No, no, no, no, no, no. It wasn’t easy. I got hit over the head all the time, you know. First, I was a woman and then I was an African American. They will beat you up on those things. Oklahoma was still a southern attitude. But my daddy told me, “Don’t ever let that stop you. You have your ambition and you go ahead and do what you think you’re

cut out to do. Don’t let any of those things stop you,” and I tried to live that way.

Finchum In 1968 a lot of things were going on.

Atkins Yes, indeedy.

Finchum From Robert Kennedy and…

Atkins Oh, yes, indeedy.

Finchum …Martin Luther King and…

Atkins Oh, yes, indeedy. Yes.

Finchum And do you think that impacted your being able to get elected at all?

Atkins No.

Finchum No?

Atkins I think my ability was dependent on going door to door asking people to vote. They had never been asked directly to vote. Usually in those days, especially in the African American communities, they would have no contact till election day and no discussion on what was important. So I brought a new day to the election there in the African American community.

Finchum The time was just right.

Atkins Evidently.

Finchum And the Civil Rights Movement had been a couple of years earlier.

Atkins It was still going on. Yes, not everybody knew that they could register to vote. I had lined up some of the registrars and took them around to some of the areas to register the people, and I visited churches and—didn’t campaign in the churches, but afterwards, you know, I would go in there where they held their coffee and cookies, and I would shake hands with people and everything.

Finchum And you participated in a garbage strike?

Atkins Of course. (Laughter) Well, you’ve seen that picture, haven’t you? Yes, indeedy.

Finchum What was that like?

Atkins Very upsetting. (Laughter) Here I was a quiet little lady getting hauled into jail, but a friend said, “Don’t worry. We’re gonna get you out in a few hours,” and they did.

Finchum Well, you were in your mid-forties or fifties when that happened?

Atkins I was born in, what—1923, so you can subtract from that.

Finchum Early forties maybe.

Atkins Maybe. I didn’t feel that old. (Laughter) I still don’t feel old. (Laughs) I keep saying, “You’re only as old as you feel.” That’s what my daddy always taught us.

Finchum Live to be a hundred.

Atkins “Live your life to the fullest,” that was his slogan, and we tried to do that.

Finchum Well, how old were they when they passed on—your parents?

Atkins My mother was eighty-nine. I don’t know how old my dad was, but I remember my mother was eighty-nine. That was quite old back in those days.

Finchum You come from a good bloodline.

Atkins Oh, yes. Well, my oldest sister is ninety-four, and she still travels all over the world. She swims every day and she doesn’t give up for anything.

Finchum That’s good.

Atkins I think I may have a year or two left. (Laughter)

Finchum You did some work for the Department of Human Services in the area of aging?

Atkins Yes.

Finchum That must have been interesting.

Atkins It was. I visited all of the nursing homes and everything. Well, I had multiple duties. I also was over the Department of Corrections, so I had

to visit all the prisons and correctional centers in the state, and I would make unannounced visits, and you’d be shocked to see what I’d see sometimes when I’d walk in there. Some of the conditions were really unbelievably bad. You wouldn’t have an animal living in some of the conditions and by making unannounced visits, I got them cleared up and got a few people fired. (Laughs) Yes, indeedy.

I would always tell the correction officer, I said, “The inmates are human beings. They should be treated with respect as any other human being. Being incarcerated is punishment enough. You don’t need to treat them like animals.” And that was the message I would leave.

Finchum And you passed some legislation about people that were mentally incompetent that were charged with crimes.

Atkins Yes. We had quite a few of those (Laughs) who committed crimes and did not know what they were doing. Yes, quite a few.

Finchum So you’ve done it all—a lot of stuff.

Atkins Well, it’s been an interesting life so far. I’m still enjoying living.

Finchum What brought you to D.C.?

Atkins To be near my family. My son, Charles, was worried about my being out in Oklahoma alone, as I had no relatives out there. My friends were dying off every month. He said, “Mom, we’ve got to get you on the east coast.” So he pulled up several on his computer and there was one that was more upscale than this but it was remote. It wasn’t near anything, and there was another one that I liked better but they had a waiting list of three years. I said, “I’m not gonna wait three years.” So I settled on this, and this has been comfortable. I feel safe here. That’s the main thing.

Finchum So he’s in the area?

Atkins My oldest son has a home in the District [of Columbia]. My youngest son has a home, a little condo on Park Avenue (Laughter) in New York City, and my daughter is in Delaware, so I’m near…

Finchum All of them.

Atkins …all of them, yes. It got to the place where they’d cut back on air flights to Oklahoma City, and you couldn’t get there sometimes in one day. You had to sometimes go to Dallas and then back up to Oklahoma City and all. So I’ve been satisfied here. I feel safe, and I don’t have to cook. (Laughter) That’s another plus.

Finchum Have they tried to elect you to some office?

Atkins I decided when I came here I’m gonna keep my mouth shut and just enjoy being here. I do attend the meetings when we have residents association meetings, but I’ve been there, done that. I don’t need that anymore.

Finchum So very few of them know what you’ve accomplished in your lifetime.

Atkins That’s right. I don’t brag about it, no. I lived it. I don’t have to brag about it. I’ve enjoyed everything that I’ve done along the way.

Finchum Did you go into the legislature thinking you wanted to do something in particular and then, if so, did you get it done?

Atkins Yes, I did. I changed several laws affecting women and minorities, and also upgraded the nursing homes and the Corrections Department. The nursing home situation was atrocious, but I was able to make unannounced visits and got a couple of top people fired, you know, to really correct it because the nursing home got to be an industry, not a caring place, and they weren’t giving the people proper food or they weren’t getting the baths that they needed and things like that. Like I did at the Corrections Department, I’d walk in unannounced and you’d be amazed at what you’d see if they didn’t know you were coming.

Finchum And how long did you do that?

Atkins Let’s see —oh, the years are disappearing, but I think eight years in all. I did the best I could and Governor Bellmon was wonderful—very supportive, and if there were any major problems I could go directly to him and he would exercise his power.

Finchum Is there anything you had hoped to accomplish during that time that you didn’t quite get done?

Atkins Well, I wasn’t able to clear out some of the nursing homes that needed to be closed, but they had big political allies, you know, they were paying off, but there were some nursing homes that I got corrected up to a point but really should have been shut down, but I did the best I could with what I could do.

Finchum When you were in the legislature, was there any bill that you tried to get passed that just couldn’t get over the hump?

Atkins Oh, I’m sure there were. (Laughter)

Finchum No major ones that stick out in your mind?

Atkins They only come to me at midnight. (Laughs) I’ll call you at midnight and tell you.

Finchum Okay. (Laughter) You do that. You go through a lot in a year’s time—a lot of bills. A lot of reading.

Atkins But as I told you, I would meet with the “good ‘ole boys” in the morning at breakfast and we would decide who was gonna support who and would make the tradeoffs, and I got a lot of mine passed.

Finchum And you worked with John Monks?

Atkins Yes. He was a very nice person. He was an interesting person. If you get through smiling at his name, you know—Monks. (Laughs)

Finchum And you had a part to play in the women’s caucus?

Atkins Oh, yes.

Finchum Oklahoma or…

Atkins Oh, yes, of course. I helped organize it. There wasn’t one because at one time we only had about two or three women, but as we grew I said, “We need to exercise our muscle and let them know we’re here.” And we got bills passed, yes.

Finchum How often did you convene with them?

Atkins Well, probably about once a week while we were in session. We’d meet for breakfast, and that was the best time to meet because as the day went on, you had committee meetings and, of course, the session, so we agreed to meet early.

Finchum Did Senate members come, too?

Atkins Oh, sure, yes.

Finchum Did it matter if they were a democrat or a republican?

Atkins No.

Finchum Just had to be a woman.

Atkins That’s right. And, of course, there were some things that bypassed the

democrat/republican aspect and just needed to look at what would benefit women and correct some of the things that women were missing out on, yes.

Finchum I would like to have been a little mouse listening to all of that back then.

Atkins Well, women were not paid the same thing as men for the same job. That was one of the major things that we fought.

Finchum And then something about property— that wives couldn’t claim property unless…

Atkins Yes, women were treated like second-class citizens at that time.

Finchum In 1972 a group of women campaigned against you—African American women?

Atkins I don’t remember that.

Finchum Well, it didn’t work evidently. (Laughter)

Atkins No. Nope. There were always “anti” people, you know. If there’s a campaign, it’s not gonna all be just flushed through.

Finchum Did you ever think about running for the Senate…

Atkins No.

Finchum …instead of the House?

Atkins No. I liked the House. They tried to twist my arm to get me to run for the Senate, but I said no.

Finchum What was the difference between the two then—besides years?

Atkins The length of service.

Finchum Besides that though…

Atkins There was a different atmosphere, (Laughs) and the Senate felt that they were superior to everybody. But I found that you could get more work done through the House because you could get more support and push it through faster than in the Senate. Senate would stall around on things. The House is much more lively.

Finchum And there was a time when you were trying to get something passed

about public housing?

Atkins Yes.

Finchum And had opposition to that as well?

Atkins Of course.

Finchum One of my last questions is—when history is written about you, what would you like for it to say?

Atkins I’d like them to say that Hannah Atkins represented the people. She worked in the interest of people, to give everybody an equal chance at life and living well.

Finchum Well, I’d say she did.

Atkins I hope so.

Finchum And, if you had to pick one or two top memories of your time in the political arena, what might they be?

Atkins I guess the first one would be the first public speech that I made (Laughs) and I was so nervous that I almost forgot what I had to say, and we weren’t suppose to hold a script, but I looked at my husband who was sitting in the front of the audience, and I took a deep breath and then it came back to me. They would not permit us to hold a script. I guess being a nervous little librarian, I was just completely flabbergasted to see the crowd of people out there. I wasn’t accustomed to making public speeches but I learned because my husband was a terrific speaker. He taught me how to make eye contact and speak to somebody—just pick out somebody in the audience and talk to them, and it worked.

Finchum Do you remember what you were talking about that first time?

Atkins Oh, no. I don’t remember. Whatever the political topics were…

Finchum Were at the time?

Atkins …always were a dozen things you had to talk about.

Finchum Okay, what about the last day that you served as a legislator?

Atkins Oh, dear, I don’t…it was very moving. So many of my friends came and patted me on the back and said, “We’re gonna miss you.” Some of the staff people gave a little farewell party for me and all. So it was a very

moving experience.

Finchum You weren’t leaving the Capitol. You were switching office.

Atkins Yes, that’s right. Yes. I still hear from one of my staff members a couple of times a month, so…

Finchum What do you consider your greatest accomplishment?

Atkins I’ve never thought of it that way.

Finchum Probably three successful children.

Atkins (Laughter) Yes, indeedy. I just—I think being able to survive. In Oklahoma in those days, it was quite something, and a female and an African American. That was quite something, but I was taught—my dad said, “Wherever you are is where you’re supposed to be. Just hold your head up and keep going.” And that’s what I did. And he said, “If you upset somebody, your being there, that’s their problem not yours.” And that was the way I was brought up and it worked.

Finchum Everyone that I’ve asked about you has said that you are a very gracious lady and one with integrity, and I think they’re correct.

Atkins I tried to live that way. That was the way I was brought up. My mother and father both said, “Honesty is the best policy always, and everybody is deserving of respect.” We were taught to call our yard man “Mr.” and the garbage man “Mr.” and we treated everyone with respect. That’s a southern upbringing.

Finchum You’re a good role model for those who came after you.

Atkins Well, I hope so.

Finchum One in particular—I’ll interview her later—is Vicki Miles-LaGrange.

Atkins Oh, yes. I think about her every day—Vicki Miles-LaGrange, yes. She was one of my protégés way back there. She has done an excellent job as senator and everything. Yes, indeedy.

Finchum I thought you might recognize that name. Did you have any other protégés?

Atkins Well, I’m sure I did but she’s the one that…

Finchum Comes to the top.

Atkins Yes, indeedy. She’s done so well. Yes. I’m really proud of her.

Finchum Is there anything else we need to cover?

Atkins Well, I’ll think of it at midnight tonight, and I’ll call you. (Laughter)

Finchum Allrighty, well thank you very much for talking with me today.

Atkins Well, thank you. I feel very honored to be considered.

------End of interview------