Noted New Orleans social services group drops racist’s name

By JANET McCONNAUGHEY
Associated Press

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans social services nonprofit long known as the Kingsley House has ditched the name of a Victorian clergyman found to have held profoundly racist views. It was named in 1896 for both social reformer Charles Kingsley and the founder’s son Kingsley Warner, who died as a toddler. Now the organization is named “Clover.” Charles Kingsley wrote a children’s fantasy novel for which he may be best remembered today. But research in preparation for the organization’s 125th anniversary revealed that the author of “The Water-Babies” was a racist who looked down on Blacks, Irish, Jews and Catholics. CEO Keith Liederman says the clover’s three leaves symbolize the children, families and community the group works for.