Mae Street Kidd

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

State Representative Mae Street Kidd (1909-1999) born in Millersburg, Kentucky was an innovative businesswoman, a civic leader, and a skilled politician during a time when both her gender and her inter-racial background made such accomplishments more difficult than they would be today. She had a distinguished career in public relations, served in the Red Cross during World War II, and was a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from 1968 to 1984, representing Louisville's 41st state legislative district.

Mae Street Kidd's life was greatly affected by the color of her skin—it was too dark to suit some persons and was too light to please others. She was the daughter of a white father who never acknowledged her and although she herself was more than 3/4ths caucasian—she was legally considered to be black by the prevailing standards of early 20th Century America. Throughout her life, she struggled for acceptance in both the white and black communities.

According to Wade Hall, in his biography of Kidd Passing for Black: The Life and Careers of Mae Street Kidd, while traveling by train in her Red Cross uniform with her darker-complected brother in his Army uniform during World War II, Kidd was asked to move from the "colored" section of the train to the "white" section. Kidd repeatedly refused—and also refused to explain herself, later saying: "I was a grown woman. I was wearing my Red Cross uniform. My brother was a grown man, wearing his Army uniform. We were a brother and sister going to see our parents before we shipped overseas. We were both American citizens serving our country. We didn't owe anybody an explanation."

In 1948, Kidd also organized the first Louisville Urban League Guild and served as President of the Lincoln Foundation. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People presented to her its Unsung Heroine Award, and she received a Louisville Mayor's Citation for Outstanding Community Service.

During her tenure in elective office, she was known for her sponsorship of landmark legislation. For instance, her House Bill No. 27 became law in 1972, creating the Kentucky Housing Corporation which promotes and finances low-income housing in the state. In 1974, this particular bill was officially designated as the "Mae Street Kidd Act." She also sponsored a proposal to make the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. an official state holiday.

Representative Kidd was distressed that her native Kentucky had never approved the United States Constitution's 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery), 14th Amendment (defining citizenship) and 15th Amendment (granting all males the right to vote regardless of race, color, or previous condition of servitude). Known collectively as the "Reconstruction Amendments," all three of those constitutional amendments had became law shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War when a sufficient number of lawmakers in other states had ratified them. Acting to dot some undotted i's and to cross some uncrossed t's, Representative Kidd offered and secured the adoption in 1976 of a resolution to belatedly and symbolically ratify—on behalf of Kentucky—the 13th, 14th and 15th Amendments in conjunction with the celebration of America's bicentennial.

In her career in Kentucky's General Assembly, Representative Kidd's "firsts" also included being the first female on the Rules Committee.