![\"Connie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/https:\/\/media.zenfs.com\/en\/tallahassee-democrat\/32e0ee04a7693571a24bb31c19bb8836.jpg\"\/)
<\/p>\nDr. Constantine “Connie” Hicks-Evans \u2013 an educator, NAACP leader and longtime Tallahassee community advocate who helped preserve the legacy of her late husband, civil rights leader Charles L. Evans Sr. \u2013 died after a stroke while visiting her native North Carolina. She was 80.<\/p>\n
Born in Durham, North Carolina, Dr. Hicks-Evans graduated from Merrick-Moore High School before building a career devoted to education and public service. She worked for the Florida Department of Education and Leon County Schools, where she promoted student achievement, adult education and community engagement.<\/p>\n
She married Evans Oct. 31, 1966. The couple later moved to Tallahassee, where they were among the first Black families to settle in the Myers Park neighborhood. Charles Evans went on to become a longtime Florida A&M University professor, administrator and president of the Tallahassee Branch NAACP. He died Aug. 21, 2013.<\/p>\n
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Connie Evans, and her daughter, also named Connie Evans, stand outside of what’s being redeveloped as Chuck’s Place and The Charles, a restaurant, lounge and event space to be complete by late 2020.<\/p>\n
After her husband’s death, Dr. Hicks-Evans remained active in civic and civil rights causes. She served in a leadership role with the Tallahassee NAACP, participated in community and historic preservation efforts.<\/p>\n
She also worked to preserve public recognition of her husband’s contributions to Tallahassee. In 2020, the Tallahassee City Commission voted to rename Chapman Pond in Myers Park for Charles Evans, replacing the name of a former Florida Supreme Court justice associated with segregationist rulings.<\/p>\n
“I am ecstatic,” Dr. Hicks-Evans said after the commission’s vote. “It’s going to be a good thing for this neighborhood and a good thing for Tallahassee.”<\/p>\n
More: Know their names: A roll call of civil rights leaders who helped shape Tallahassee<\/a><\/p>\n The comment highlights how Dr. Hicks-Evans was a gracious but powerful force in Tallahassee civic life. Pastor Michael Price of Bethel AME Church said Dr. Hicks-Evans’ impact extended well beyond her family and civic work.<\/p>\n “Sister Connie Evans was a giant, not only in the Tallahassee and Big Bend area, but in the Bethel family,” Price said.<\/p>\n “Her faith was tremendous, her dedication, her hard work, her love of community, and she truly understood that the true principle of the kingdom of God was the care of community and neighbor, regardless of where they were from or what they looked like,” he added.<\/p>\n Dr. Hicks-Evans is survived by her children: Charles L. Evans Jr. (Julie), Carita Evans, Constance “Connie” Evans (Billy Singletary) and Cara Evans-Patterson (Dr. Bryan Patterson), along with 16 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. Funeral arrangements are pending.<\/p>\n More: Tallahassee NAACP mural honors local civil rights icons<\/a><\/p>\n