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65
C
hapter
T
hree
:
‘S
uffer
the
C
hildren
…’ (1956 – 1977)
murder, robbery) and accidents (people fell down elevator
shafts and children fell out of windows).”
19
Similar
problems plagued public housing throughout St. Louis, as
well as other metropolitan areas of the United States.
Ralph Koeppe brought from Caroline Mission a strong
commitment towards social justice and ameliorating the
conditions of inner city poverty. But not until 1956 is
there mention made of non-white participants at Kingdom
House, where the
Minutes
casually mention: “The mother
of 2 African American children in the program is a
teacher in an afternoon sewing class.”
20
For the Kingdom
House staff and Women’s Board, integration was
apparently a non-issue. As we will see later, this is not the
case for residents of the neighborhood itself.
Kingdom House was urged to purchase property
between the existing buildings and 12th street and
the Metropolitan Church Federation encouraged the
settlement to buy the whole block “...as [a] stronghold
of Protestantism and Methodism..”
21
Addressing the
November 1956 Women’s Board, Koeppe said:
B
C
D
P
hotos
:
B:
Performing the hula
C/D:
VIP visitors
I
n
that
same month
,
it was noted
that
several
N
ative
A
merican
families had
moved
into
the
D
arst
apartments
,
were
visited
by
K
ingdom
H
ouse
staff
and
invited
to
participate
in
programming
.