As she prepared to help rename a Gary street after her late father, Ragen Hatcher wanted to ensure that his heart never left the city.

“Your presence is still here,” state Rep. Hatcher, D-Gary, also executive director of the Gary Sanitary District. “Today, your name takes its rightful place in the city you loved.”

On Monday, the city of Gary officially renamed Grant Street to Richard G. Hatcher Boulevard — an effort that was started by former Mayor Karen Freeman Wilson after Hatcher’s death in 2019.

In February 2021, the Gary Common Council voted to rename Columbus Day after Richard Hatcher, the city’s first Black mayor, according to Post-Tribune archives. Richard Hatcher was mayor for 20 years — which Gary Mayor Eddie Melton called unprecedented — starting in 1967.

Richard Hatcher die

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