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kingsleyhouse.org
Kingsley House head office at 1600 Constance Street.
Kingsley House board members, senior management, elected officials and staff have announced that the name of the 125-year-old non-profit will be changed. The decision came after the discovery of the racist ideologies of Charles Kingsley, a Victorian-era British clergyman, author and social reformer.
The nonprofit is a one-stop social and caring organization that focuses on toddlers to the elderly, according to Kingsley House officials. Its main campus is in the Lower Garden District.
Kingsley House CEO Keith Liederman said he and others involved in the decision believed it was important to dissociate the nonprofit from someone with conflicting views.
We are proud of the impact we have had in our first 125 years and believe our name change decision is a testament to our continued commitment to advance systemic change for our children, families and community, said Liederman.
Courtesy of Kingsley House
Children work on their lessons at Kingsley House while schools have discontinued in-person learning.
According to Liederman, Kingsley House partly adopted its name from Kingsley Warner, son of the founder of Kingsley House, the Reverend Beverley Warner. Kingsley Warner died in infancy. The name, however, also serves to honor Reverend Charles Kinglsey, then known primarily as a Christian socialist who fought for labor reforms.
Liederman said that in 2019, a group of English academics published extensive research on Kinglesy on the 200th anniversary of his birth. They discovered writings and sermons that reveal strong prejudices against Irish people, Jews and Catholics and contain racist references to blacks.
Subsequently, in 2020, in preparation for Kingsley House’s 125th anniversary, knowledge of his racist views came to light, which Liederman said was unknown prior to this research.
According to Liederman, despite what Charles Kingsley stands for, the long history of Kingsley Houses illustrates how the organization has been a mainstay in empowering diverse communities in New Orleans and the surrounding areas and how inclusiveness has always been a factor in actions guided by the mission.
kingsleyhouse.org
The current main campus of Kingsley House in the Lower Garden District opened in 1925.
Liederman said the first nonprofit program in 1896 was a child care program at an immigrant resettlement home in New Orleans.
The organization is also behind a list of historic firsts: the first kindergarten in Louisiana, the first vocational skills program for the blind in Louisiana, the headquarters of the country’s first school of social work. It is even the origin of the first playground in the world, which led to the creation of the New Orleans Recreation Department.
Liederman added that Kingsley House has continued to devote time and passion to strengthening communities through nationally accredited and state certified programs and services.
We have always focused on serving the underserved marginalized in our community, those struggling due to various forms of oppression, ostracism and denial of the right to vote, Liederman said. It has always been our main goal, to change our society [and to] changing the way things are done in our community so that our children and families can be successful.
Courtesy of Kingsley House
Kingsley House was a pioneer of early learning programs.
After discovering the writings and sermons of Charles Kingsley last year, Liederman said an immediate decision to act and change the name of the organization was made within two weeks of the findings.
Liederman explained that when considering the history of the organization and how its origins were defined, the focus was on how Reverend Warner named it for his son.
That says a lot about what we do, our historic mission and what we have always focused on, namely children and families, he said. However, Liederman adds, he and the organization’s leaders acknowledge that Charles Kingsley was also part of the nomination.
Knowing what we now know about him, we think it’s extremely important that we make that transition right now, he said. This is a change that absolutely must happen from our point of view as an organization because the name no longer represents who we are, what we do, what we have always done in our community, [or] what we believe.
Courtesy of Kingsley House
Veterans are honored during a Kingsley House program.
A name change committee made up of program participants, staff, boards of directors, senior leaders, elected officials and community leaders was formed last year and has met regularly over the months. . They also looked at the name ideas of community members.
Despite the reason he had to do it, Liederman said the process of selecting potential alternative names was exciting. They learned the stories of various people and their contributions to the community, and that those involved in the decision are eager to find a name that matches the association’s commitment and mission, he said. he declares.
While the criteria for suggestions are broad, Liederman said it’s universally decided that we want a name that truly reflects the work we do and the work we’ve always done.
Liederman declined to release the names under investigation.
A new name is expected to be announced by the fall of this year. Until then, the organization will continue to operate under the Kingsley House name.
Journalist Camille Barnett can be contacted at [email protected].
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