Jane Addams (1860-1935) of Hull House in Chicago

‘ABDU’L-BAHA’S VISIT TO HULL HOUSE

“IT was a warm, springlike day on Tuesday, April 30, when Jane Addams welcomed ‘Abdu’l-Bahá to Hull House and introduced Him to an audience that far exceeded the auditorium’s seating capacity of 750. ‘Abdu’l-Bahá spoke on the unity of the races, saying, “God is not pleased with, neither should any reasonable or intelligent man be willing to recognize inequality in the races because of this distinction [color].”l Concerning racial Conditions in Chicago, Mahmud noted, “Dr. Zia Bagdadi invited Mr. Gregory [a black Bahá’í]… to his home. The owner of the house, hearing this, came to Dr. Zia and asked him very seriously to vacate the house because the Doctor had given a colored man access to his home. In such surging waves of hatred and prejudice the influence of the divine Cause and the power of the Covenant of God was … victorious …. ” As ‘Abdu’l-Bahá left Hull House, many children and unemployed men crowded around to meet Him; to each He gave coins.” — 239 Days, 48.

JANE Addams (September 6, 1860 – May 21, 1935) was a pioneer settlement worker, founder of Hull House in Chicago, public philosopher, sociologist, author, and leader in woman suffrage and world peace. Alongside presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson she was the most prominent[1] reformer of the Progressive Era and helped turn the nation to issues of concern to mothers, such as the needs of children, public health and world peace. She emphasized that women have a special responsibility to clean up their communities and make them better places to live, arguing they needed the vote to be effective. Addams became a role model for middle-class women who volunteered to uplift their communities. She is increasingly being recognized as a member of the American pragmatist school of philosophy.[2]In 1931 she became the first American woman to be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Addams