Birdie

A very distant cousin named Birdie lived in California and she owned a house in an exclusive area in Chicago. She decided she was going to sell her house in Chicago to Negroes. The neighbors were upset. Keep in mind, this was in 1915. Terminology was different and racism (sadly much like today) was rampant. She announced her plans and they were published in the paper. Now, was she going to do this because she was against the inequality of life between races or did she do this simply to irritate her neighbors. I am thinking the latter. She had no takers so a month or so later she decided to donate her home to Florence Prouty. Florence was the founder of a crippled children's home. I would like to think Birdie had the best intentions at heart to help the children, but the article goes on to quote Birdie describing the children who would live there and it wasn't complimentary. The final part of the quote was 'they (the neighbors) will be sorry they ever went up against Birdie' and 'charity may be sweet, but revenge is sugar.' I wonder what the story is behind all of this. It makes me sad to think Birdie would use people in this way and it also makes me sad to think the world isn't that much different today.

Let me amend the above. She offered her Chicago home in the Hyde Park district "to any colored or Italian" purchaser. She tried to sell the home previously and was unsuccessful. So she broadened her possible base and then finally her husband sent her a telegram telling her to donate the house to charity.