Their Story Their Voice
Their Story Their Voice
The Legacy of Clara Hale: Mother of Harlem's Forgotten Children
In this episode, I explored how Clara's unwavering commitment to helping the most vulnerable led her to become a beacon of hope in New York's inner city.
Please note transcription accuracy may vary.
Below are links to the materials mentioned in this episode:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clara-Hale-Mother-Everyone-Contributes/dp/1562392352
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmnD1557Izk
https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/12/nyregion/mamma-hale-gives-home-to-babies-of-addicts.html
https://www.blackpast.org/african-american-history/hale-clara-mcbride-1905-1992/
https://ephemeralnewyork.wordpress.com/tag/mother-hale/
Music by:
(Neffex - A year ago)
(Neffex - dont want to let myself go)
Hi, hi, hi, hi. Another quick solo episode. This episode, I wanted to go with a person that not that many people would have heard of, and the person I chose to go with is Clara Hale. Clara Hale was born in 1905 and was a founder of Hale House. which was based in New York's Harlem. Clara was a mum to her biological children and she was also a foster parent between 1947 and 1968 where she had fostered in excess of 40 children. Whilst Clara was fostering, she was doing this as a single parent because her husband had sadly passed away from cancer years before. Then, in 1969, during her own act of kindness, her daughter, Lorraine, saw her mum holding a baby and noticed the child was falling from her arms. Lorraine approached the lady and asked if she could take the baby to her mum, Clara. to help look after her for a period of time. And this is the origin story of Hale House. By this time, Clara was in her 60s and she began looking after children with substance. By this time, Clara was in her 60s and she began looking after children born to mothers with substance addiction. Some of the children that Clara was taking in, through no fault of their own, were experiencing withdrawal symptoms from the drugs. In her words, not all of them have to die. Some of them have the determination to live. I'm just glad I can do something for them. News began to spread about the work that she was doing and with the help of city officials and donations. Just going to side note, but relevant, one of her famous donors was John Lennon, who donated 20, 000 US dollars, which nowadays would equate to 40, 000 US dollars. So, with the help of the donations, she was able to expand Hale House and locate it to a five storey house. Clara realised her purpose was to help the young in the inner city, beyond infant stage, by being an advocate for them, knowing that they may not have chosen their circumstances, but providing them a home that gave them love and support that they would not have otherwise have had, clara realised her purpose was to help the young in the inner city, beyond infant stage, by being an advocate for them, knowing that they may not have chosen their circumstances, but providing them with a home that gave them the love and support that they would have not otherwise have had. I have, in the show notes, I've put a video, which shows her with the children she had taken in, which shows her as a person and that she is a true testament to compassion, love and kindness. There aren't a lot of articles out there about the work that she did, but the ones that I could find I've added onto the show notes. Wanted to just, finish this with, because I don't want people to think that she took in these babies and that was it, never to see their family or parents again. But that wasn't how it worked. She actually then tried to rehabilitate the mothers so that they were able to look after their children. Clara died on the 18th of December 1992. And up until the end of her days, she was still doing what she felt she was called to do. I also just wanted to add that this was during the time when the inner cities were just left. Some would argue that they are still left. Personally, I would say that's true. She stood for, she stood for something so kind. She just wanted to help, which is why she was given the name, Mama Hale, or Mother Hale. She continued her work with dedication and love and kindness up until her death and just want to, because I love her figure, at the time, by 1983, 28, 000 women had succumbed to drug addiction in New York. Just New York, that figure's only for New York. So imagine how many children were born chemically dependent. Most of these children never stood a chance. But some of them, they did. Because of her, and the work she did.
