Annie Ruth Zachary Pike’s Life, Career, and Legacy
Annie Pike is a native of Marvell, which is a small town in Phillips County Arkansas. She was born in 1931, in the small town of Big Creek not far from Marvell. Her father was a local farmer and landowner, which was not common for African Americans to own land during the times after the Elaine Race Massacre of 1919. In my interview with Annie Pike she recalls never being hungry and was blessed to never have to work as a sharecropper or tenant farmer. Her family raised their own meat and grew their own vegetables. During her school years Annie was ambitious, was involved in many sports and clubs. She stated that she wanted to be the best at any opportunites that were offered to her.
After graduating high school she attended Homer G. Phillips Hospital School of Nursing in St. Louis Missouri and graduated there in 1952. Annie then moved back to her hometown of Marvell where she married her first husband Grover Zachary. He was also a farmer and landowner, until he became ill. While managing the farm she was also a nurse and mother. She took full advantage of the USDA’s resources in order to achieve full agricultural success along with other ways to benefit her farm. The interactions with the USDA influenced her to take part in rural civil rights activism. Annie was appointed to the USDA Citizens Advisory Committee on Civil Rights and was also appointed to the Arkansas Farmers Administration Advisory Committee.
At the same time as her involvement in agriculture she became a key part of the Arkansas Republican Party through Winthrop Rockefeller’s campaign in 1966. She helped him become the first Republican Governor of Arkansas since 1874. Annie went door to door campaigning in Phillips County for Rockefeller, this played a huge part in his 80% African American votes. Rockefeller recognized her important contribution to his campaign and appointed her to the state Welfare Board. She became a leading figure in the Republican Party due to her concern for the needy. Annie served on the White House Conference on Aging, the Technical Committee on Nutrition, and the United States Department of Agriculture Citizens Advisory Commission on Civil Rights during the Nixon Administration.
The reason Annie ran for the state Senate as a Republican in 1972 was for the benefits of black farmers, but sadly she did not win. Running for state Senate made her the first African American woman to successfully file and run for an elected position in the 20th. After loosing the race she was still heavily involved with the Republican party and politics. Annie inspired many African American women to become active in state politics. The legacy Annie Pike created in public service is difficult to rival.
