Happy Birthday to humanitarian and activist Clara McBride “Mother” Hale (b. April 1, 1905, in Elizabeth City, NC), who dedicated her life to providing supportive care to children experiencing disadvantageous circumstances. She largely funded these programs out of her own pocket and especially focused on helping the children of people struggling with addiction in Harlem. She founded Hale House in 1969, which operated in Harlem into the twenty-first century. Between its founding and the close of the twentieth century, Hale House reportedly took in and cared for about 3,000 young children. In a 1997 interview, Clara Hale’s daughter Dr. Lorraine E. Hale emphasized that Hale House prioritized an inclusive atmosphere for everyone. It encouraged children to be themselves and love themselves, despite troubled pasts. Dr. Lorraine E. Hale remarked: “It strikes me that when a child is put in a good home, a decent home, a home that helps build his ego and enhances his natural ability, the children can do so well.” Hale House contributors recognized and empowered children’s great potential to succeed and thrive, with or without the everyday support of parents struggling with mental health.
Citations: “Black Scholar Is Named to Direct Harlem’s Hale House Foundation,” The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education 36, (Summer 2002): 39, https://www.jstor.org/stable/3133923; Marvin V. Greene, “The Technology of Mother Love,” US Black Engineer and Information Technology* 23, no. 3 (November/December 1999): 28-29, https://www.jstor.org/stable/43689715; Z. Hale, “Clara ‘Mother’ Hale 1906-1992 founder of Hale House Center, Inc.,” photograph (location unknown, date unknown), public domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clara_Hale.jpg#/media/File:Clara_Hale.jpg.
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