Mae Street Kidd
Mae Street Kidd | |
|---|---|
| Born | February 8, 1904 |
| Died | October 20, 1999 (aged 95) |
| Occupation(s) | politician, civil rights activist |
| Spouse(s) | Horace Street (d. 1942) James Kidd (d. 1972) |
| Parent(s) | Anna Belle Leer, Charles Robert Jones |
| Member of the Kentucky House of Representatives from the 41st district | |
| In office January 1, 1968 – January 1, 1985 | |
| Preceded by | Jesse P. Warders |
| Succeeded by | Tom Riner |
Mae Jones Street Kidd (February 8, 1904 – October 20, 1999) was an American businesswoman, civic leader, and a skilled politician in her home state of Kentucky. Raised by her African American mother and step-father after her white father refused to acknowledge her as his daughter, she had a distinguished career in insurance and 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 District 41 (Louisville).
During her tenure in elective office, she was known for her sponsorship of landmark legislation. House Bill No. 27, which became law in 1972, created the Kentucky Housing Corporation (KHC), which promotes and finances low-income housing in the state. The bill was known in her honor as the "Mae Street Kidd Act."
In 1976, Representative Kidd also sponsored a successful resolution in the Kentucky General Assembly by which Kentucky officially ratified the United States Constitution's 13th Amendment (abolishing slavery), 14th Amendment (defining citizenship) and 15th Amendment (granting all men 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 become law shortly after the conclusion of the Civil War, when a sufficient number of lawmakers in other states had ratified them. Until the unanimous vote in support of Representative Kidd's resolution, Kentucky had never ratified these Amendments.