Mae Street Kidd facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Mae Street Kidd
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| Born | February 8, 1904 |
| Died | October 20, 1999 (aged 95) |
| Occupation | politician, civil rights activist |
| Spouse(s) | Horace Street (d. 1942) James Kidd (d. 1972) |
| Parent(s) | Anna Belle Leer, Charles Robert Jones |
Mae Street Kidd (born February 8, 1904 – died October 20, 1999) was an amazing American leader. She was a successful businesswoman and a skilled politician. This was especially impressive because of her gender and mixed-race background. She worked in public relations and helped the Red Cross during World War II. Later, she became a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives. She served from 1968 to 1984, representing Louisville.
During her time in office, Mae Street Kidd helped pass important laws. In 1972, she sponsored House Bill No. 27. This bill created the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC). The KHC helps people find affordable homes. It provides money for low-income housing in Kentucky. In 1974, this law was even named the "Mae Street Kidd Act" in her honor.
Representative Kidd also led a big effort. She wanted Kentucky to officially approve three important parts of the U.S. Constitution. These are the 13th Amendment, 14th Amendment, and 15th Amendment. These amendments were passed after the Civil War. They ended slavery, defined who was a citizen, and gave all men the right to vote. Even though they were already law, Kentucky had not officially approved them. In 1976, Mae Street Kidd helped Kentucky finally ratify these important amendments.
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Early Life and Education
Mae Jones was born on February 8, 1904, in Millersburg, Kentucky. Her mother, Anna Belle Leer, worked for a wealthy white family. Her father, Charles Robert Jones, was the son of her mother's employers. Mae was their second child. She had an older brother named George William Jones. As a girl, people called her Minne Mae Jones. She later studied at Springfield Institute, the University of Louisville, and American University.
Mae spent her early years in Millersburg. When she was two, her mother married James W. Taylor, a tobacco farmer. Her mother also ran a successful catering business. Mae knew her biological father had his own family. She felt hurt that he couldn't openly recognize her as his daughter. She later said she got over this painful part of her childhood.
Facing Challenges and Jim Crow Laws
Black people in Millersburg lived in a section called Shippsville. Mae went to school there until the eighth grade. She noticed that her light skin sometimes helped her avoid Jim Crow laws. These laws were unfair rules that separated black and white people. They meant black people had to use different schools, seating areas, and even drinking fountains. Mae remembered trying on hats in shops, and everyone knew she was of mixed heritage. Her mother later moved the family to a house in Millersburg proper. A white cousin helped buy the house and transfer the deed.
Mae's mother and stepfather worked hard for their family. They had two more children: Webster Demetrius Taylor and Mary Evelyn Taylor. As a teenager, Mae wanted to help her family. But her mother didn't want her to work for white families. She told Mae, "I want you to have a choice when you grow up." Since her local school only went to eighth grade, Mae was sent to the Lincoln Institute. This school in Simpsonville offered better education during the Jim Crow era. She was 15 when she left home in 1919. She stayed for two years until her family's money problems made her return home.
Career in Insurance and Public Relations
Back home, Mae found a part-time job selling insurance. She worked for Mammoth Life and Accident Insurance Company. This was a successful company owned by black people in Louisville. Black-owned insurance companies were very important. They helped African-American communities when other companies often discriminated against them. From 1921 to 1925, Mae sold policies and collected money. She walked all over black neighborhoods in Millersburg and a nearby city. She said everyone knew her parents, and older people watched over her.
After four years, Mae was offered a job at Mammoth's main office in Louisville. She was excited to live in a big city and support herself. But Louisville still had unspoken rules because it was in the South. Mae recalled, "I couldn't use the main public library. I couldn't go to the first-run movie shows on Fourth Street."
Mae was promoted several times. She became an assistant bookkeeper and then supervisor of policy issues. In 1935, she married Horace Street, a top executive at Mammoth. He was 13 years older than her. Even in the 1940s, Mae still faced challenges because of her skin color. Her husband didn't want her to travel with him to the South. He worried about problems on trains or finding hotel rooms, as Mae was often mistaken for white. Horace Street died in 1942.
Service in World War II
In 1943, Mae joined the American Red Cross. She was sent to England during World War II. There, she helped run a club for black American soldiers in Southampton. She once traveled by train in her Red Cross uniform with her brother, who was in his Army uniform. A conductor asked her to move from the "colored" section to the "white" section. Mae refused. She later said, "We were both American citizens serving our country. We didn't owe anybody an explanation."
After the war, Mae worked in Portland, Maine. She ran a club for merchant sailors. She wanted to return to Mammoth, but not to her old job. She had gained valuable experience in public relations. Mae created a new public relations plan for Mammoth. The company board accepted her idea, and she got her own office. From 1946 to 1956, she managed all company communications. She started programs to build good relationships with customers and communities. Her plan was so successful that another organization hired her to create a plan for all its member companies. In 1948, Mae also helped start the first Louisville Urban League Guild. She also led the Lincoln Foundation.
She married James Kidd, an American army officer she met overseas. They moved to Detroit. For a while, she sold cosmetics door-to-door. Then, she helped run a campaign for a candidate seeking a seat on the Detroit City Council. This was her first experience in politics. She used her public relations skills to help the campaign succeed.
When Mae returned to Louisville, she didn't get her old public relations job at Mammoth. She had to go back to selling insurance. She later said her boss wanted to embarrass her. But she ended up selling more insurance than anyone in the company's history.
She retired from Mammoth in 1966, at age 62. Many things had changed. With integration in the 1950s and 1960s, white insurance companies started serving black people. Many black people then left black-owned companies. Mae felt this was sad.
Public Service and Civil Rights
Two years later, in 1968, Mae Street Kidd was asked to run for a seat in the Kentucky House of Representatives. This was at the start of a new civil rights era. New laws were banning racial discrimination. She said no a few times, but her husband thought it was a good chance. So, Mae agreed. She won her first election with the help of neighborhood children. They rode in her car and helped her hand out flyers. She said their energy helped her when she was tired.
Mae went to Frankfort and took her seat in Kentucky's General Assembly. She was one of only three African-Americans in the legislature. The first bill she sponsored aimed to stop racial discrimination in housing. Kentucky became the first Southern state to pass such a law on its own in 1968.
In the early 1970s, she sponsored a bill for low-income housing. This bill created a state agency to help first-time home buyers get low-interest loans. She worked hard to get this bill passed. It finally became law in 1972. She also suggested making Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday an official state holiday. Mae Street Kidd was also the first woman on the Rules Committee in Kentucky's General Assembly.
Mae was re-elected until 1984. She focused on civil rights. In the mid-1970s, she learned that Kentucky had voted against the 13th Amendment in 1865. It had never officially approved the 13th, 14th, and 15th amendments. These amendments ended slavery and gave U.S. citizenship and voting rights to African Americans. Mae wanted to fix this. In 1976, she started a campaign to have the amendments officially ratified. It passed unanimously. She said it was important to her because she was a proud Kentuckian. She didn't want that "blot" to stay on their history.
Mae Street Kidd often took part in civil rights marches and events. She was also known for speaking her mind. Mervin Aubespin, an editor at a Louisville newspaper, said Mae would call if a news article only quoted white men. She would say, "I was there and nobody asked me." She wanted people who voted for her to know her opinions on important issues.
Later Years and Legacy
Mae Street Kidd was active in many charity groups throughout her life. This included the Lincoln Foundation, which helped disadvantaged children. This was the same place where she had gone to school.
Toward the end of her life, she lost her eyesight. She passed away in Louisville on October 20, 1999.
Her life story was written in a book called Passing for Black. The title showed her mixed heritage and the challenges she faced because of it. She said that most people are a mix of many races. She noted that her childhood was especially hard. She felt like she was "living in a no-man's-land" where she didn't fully belong to either race.
Awards and Recognition
Mae Street Kidd received many awards for her work.
- The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) gave her their Unsung Heroine Award.
- She received a Louisville Mayor's Citation for Outstanding Community Service.
- She was given a Top Ten Outstanding Kentuckians Award.
- She also received the Humanitarian Service Award from the United Cerebral Palsy Association.
See also
- Georgia Davis Powers
- Bert T. Combs
