PROLOGUE
Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1938
In 1938, Lela Wilcox, Geneva
McNeal, Onslow Parish, and I discussed the possibility of attending the
Michigan Republican Convention, which was to be held at the Pantland Hotel in
Grand Rapids. As members of the Young Republicans
Club for the 1st District of Detroit, we thought it would be a good experience
for us to attend. I was twenty-one years
old, and it would be the first election in which I could vote.
So we mailed our registration
forms for the convention, which included the women’s luncheon, and a room at
the hotel. We were in high spirits,
excited to be attending the convention as delegates representing our
district. However, the reception we
received when we arrived did not exemplify the Lincoln
philosophy upon which the Republican Party was supposed to be based.
We arrived in the early
afternoon, and were impressed by the majesty of the hotel. The inside was equally impressive, ornately
decorated and expansive. We approached
the front desk of the hotel, to check into our rooms, before participating in
the convention. The man at the front
desk gave us a blank stare as we stood before him, requesting access to our
rooms. He said that there were no rooms
available for us.
We looked at each other, silently
wondering how we’d handle this. Our
paperwork was mailed on time. So we
asked the man about this, and he was adamant.
There were no rooms for us. I was
the president of the women’s division of the club, and decided that we would
take action to break down this discrimination.
Instead of leaving the hotel, which I’m sure the front desk clerk and
the management of the hotel would have preferred, I explained to the clerk that
we had reserved rooms, and that we’d wait for them.
We set our bags and ourselves
down in the lobby. Every ten minutes or
so, I would return to the front desk and asked if our rooms had become
available. He maintained that there were
no rooms for us. Then I would remind him
that we’d wait until they were. This was
the routine.
While time ticked away, I came up
with an idea. Each of us had sung in
church choirs during our youth. We were
four well-trained, well-tuned voices waiting for our rooms in the lobby of the
hotel. So I decided that we’d start
singing. My favorite song of the day was
“God Bless America”
which Kate Smith had made popular.
The four of us broke out in song,
“God Bless America”
our continuous anthem. We sounded so
good, people coming into the hotel thought that the convention organizers had
hired us to be welcoming entertainment.
Over and over, we’d sing the song, in different variations and
styles. Our voices reverberated
throughout the hotel lobby.