Freeman Hankins (September 30, 1917 – December 31, 1988) was an American politician and funeral director who served as a member of the

Pennsylvania State Senate The Pennsylvania State Senate is the upper house of the Pennsylvania General Assembly, the Pennsylvania state legislature. The State Senate meets in the State Capitol building in Harrisburg. Senators are elected for four-year terms, stagger ...

for the 7th district from 1969 to 1988. He also served in the

Pennsylvania House of Representatives The Pennsylvania House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Pennsylvania General Assembly, the legislature of the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. There are 203 members, elected for two-year terms from single member districts. It ...

for Philadelphia county from 1961 to 1968. He was a Democrat.

Early life and education

Hankins was born in

Brunswick, Georgia Brunswick ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Glynn County, Georgia, Glynn County in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. As the primary urban and economic center of the lower southeast portion of Georgia, it is the second-larges ...

to Oliver and Anna Pyles Hankins. He was African-American. He attended the Friendship School in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

, the Selden Institute, and

Temple University Temple University (Temple or TU) is a public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related research university in Philadelphia, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1884 by the Baptist ministe ...

. He graduated from Dolan's College of Embalming in 1945.

Career

Hankins served in the

Medical Corps A medical corps is generally a military branch or staff corps, officer corps responsible for medical care for serving military personnel. Such officers are typically military physicians. List of medical corps The following organizations are exam ...

from 1944 to 1947 and began a career as a

funeral director A funeral director, also known as an undertaker or mortician (American English), is a professional who has licenses in funeral arranging and embalming (or preparation of the deceased) involved in the business of funeral rites. These tasks o ...

. He served on the Democratic Committee of Philadelphia's 6th ward and as vice-chairman of Philadelphia's Democratic Committee. He served as a trustee of Lincoln University and the Stephen Smith Geriatric Center. He died at the

University of Pennsylvania Hospital The Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) is the flagship hospital of Penn Medicine and is located in the University City section of West Philadelphia. History The hospital was founded at its current location in 1874 by the Univers ...

in 1988 and is interred at the Fernwood Cemetery in

Yeadon, Pennsylvania Yeadon is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. It borders the city of Philadelphia. The population was 11,443 at the 2010 census. Geography Yeadon is located in eastern Delaware County at (39.932862, -75.251540). It is bor ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hankins, Freeman 1917 births 1988 deaths African-American state legislators in Pennsylvania Democratic Party members of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives People from Brunswick, Georgia Politicians from Philadelphia Democratic Party Pennsylvania state senators Burials at Fernwood Cemetery (Lansdowne, Pennsylvania) 20th-century African-American politicians United States Army personnel of World War II 20th-century members of the Pennsylvania General Assembly