[Ohio-Talk] Fwd: Santa is Blind too

Tue Dec 3 15:48:14 UTC 2024

Annette,

Thanks for sharing!

Delcenia

From: Ohio-Talk <ohio-talk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of Annette Lutz via Ohio-Talk
Sent: Monday, December 2, 2024 3:43 PM
To: NFB List <ohio-talk at nfbnet.org>
Cc: Annette Lutz <annettelutz at icloud.com>
Subject: [Ohio-Talk] Fwd: Santa is Blind too

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From: The Blind History Lady <theblindhistorylady-gmail.com at shared1.ccsend.com <mailto:theblindhistorylady-gmail.com at shared1.ccsend.com> >
Date: December 2, 2024 at 7:06:01 AM EST
To: annettelutz at icloud.com <mailto:annettelutz at icloud.com> 
Subject: Santa is Blind too
Reply-To: theblindhistorylady at gmail.com <mailto:theblindhistorylady at gmail.com> 

Santa is Blind too

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Happy Holidays to you all! 

 Here is a story of a man I have found most interesting. Below is just a sample of what I have learned about him.

Santa’s helper called his name. The little blind boy jumped up and ran to the front of the ballroom where he heard the voice of Santa just moments before. He touched Santa’s Fknee and Santa picked him up and placed him on his lap.

“Hello little one,” Santa said. “Have you been a good boy this year?”

“Yes Santa, can I touch your beard?” he asked. “Do you have a cane?”

“Yes, I have a white cane. Santa chuckled. 

“Are you really blind, blind like me?” asked the boy.

“Yes, I am blind. Santa is just like everyone. Santa is Colored to the little Negro children. He is blind, just like all of you here.”

After a few more questions, Santa handed him a gift and reminded him that his friends were waiting for their presents. 

Later, when the presents were opened and everyone had some light refreshments, the children played with their new toys. The little boy loved his new fire truck. He got down on his knees on the hotel ballroom floor and crawled quickly, varooming his fire truck to an imaginary fire. It crashed into a chair. Gasps and “Oh’s” came from the sighted Lions members and local dignitaries.

But the fears of the sighted were unheard by the little boy as he backed up his truck and headed in a new direction. “Man, this place is small!” the little boy said. Then making a loud siren call, he scooted past the tables and chairs on the floor. 

The Honorable Judge Ned H. Smith played Santa at the annual Detroit Lions Club Christmas parties for more than a generation. Over the years, he realized how important it was for the impressionable children to know Santa was blind and that a blind child could grow up to be whatever they dreamed of. 

Ned met many blind children through his leadership positions and activities with the Lions and other civic organizations. He hoped that the little boy would continue to be unaffected by the fears and limitations of the other guests and society in general. He knew too many like him have their attitudes, curiosity, adventurism, and dreams dashed. If playing Santa could hold the limitations of others at bay for just one child each year, he would be happy. 

Judge Ned Smith was born in Indiana in 1901 and went blind in his teens. Luckily, he had family and friends who kept his dreams of becoming a doctor alive, even if they felt privately that Ned could never reach his goals. 

Ned entered the University of Michigan in 1921. With no adult services for blind students, Ned worked his way through college washing dishes. Although he was still learning to read and write in Braille, few books, especially those pertaining to his course work were in Braille. He hired readers, often students in his classes to read for him. 

One reader who read for him was Floyd Howard Skinner, a member of his class of ’26, and Black. Classmates and others warned Ned about socializing and being too friendly with the “Colored.” But Ned, now in a minority not of his choosing, found he had more in common with Floyd than not.

Although Michigan was a northern state, it had segregated places of business and employment options closed to people of color. Ned found that he too was not wanted everywhere. The University was not supportive of his career choice nor was the local medical community. Injustice was taking on a whole new meaning for Ned. He went into law like Floyd. 

Floyd got a research position in 1925 with a local Black lawyer, Oliver Green. Green filed suit in 1925, against the Keith Theatre in a case now known as Bolden. V. Grand Rapids. The case was filed on behalf of Dr. Emmett Bolden, a Black dentist who was refused seating in the theater based on his race. Floyd became well-known in the Black legal community for that work before his graduation and had job offers before leaving the University. 

Ned took an assistant prosecuting attorney position in Detroit for Wayne County in December of 1926. His new bride acted as his reader. Ned became active in local politics and joined civic organizations. He spoke on many topics to churches and community groups. In 1936 he ran for Common Plea Judge and won, being re-elected for the next 10, two-year terms. 

Judge Smith got a reputation of being fair and willing to go beyond the courtroom to help those in need. Newspapers such as the Detroit Times, a Black-owned newspaper endorsed Ned as a judge for all of Detroit, not just the white citizens. 

When WWII began, he did his part by donating blood on a regular basis and encouraging others to do the same. “With our boys spilling their blood all over hell, here’s our chance to spill a little bit. It doesn’t even hurt,” reporters quoted Ned in their blood drive articles. 

When the blind children from the public schools told his Lions Club they did not want gifts from Santa, rather the money for their gifts to be used to purchase war bonds, Ned took pride and inspiration in the patriotic spirit of the blind kids and his Lions Club did purchase war bonds in their names. The kiddies also got gifts from Santa at each Christmas party during the war. 

Ned loved sports. Rarely did he miss a Detroit Lions football game. He enjoyed swimming in the summer. He loved to play bridge or cribbage with friends and poker after work in the courthouse. He kept a Braille deck of cards in his desk at work.

He became a champion bowler in the state’s blind bowling organization. His league was made up of blind men and women from all backgrounds. They became friends. He even married a blind teammate to a young blind woman in his chambers. Ned loved to unite the many couples who came to the courthouse, especially soldiers about to head overseas, during the war.

But it was his commitment to his fellow blind people that inspired Ned. Often parents reached out to Ned to talk with their blind child. He shared with the families how he accomplished his job, the importance of being able to read and write in Braille, as well as using human readers. He told the families how important it was to explore and use all the senses, especially hearing. Ned proudly told of his 42-acre farm where he liked to spend his weekends. He described how he harvested his walnut trees, cut wood for the fireplace, and weeded the gardens. He shared his stories of being a blind parent and the importance of community involvement. 

One single mother asked Ned to talk with her blind son, Herman Hudson. The two wrote letters in Braille back and forth to each other. Ned encouraged Herman to go to college. When Ned learned that Herman might have to drop out due to financial reasons, Ned helped pay for Herman’s tuition. Herman went on to be one of the first Black professors at Indiana University. He founded the IU’s Department of Afro-American Studies.

Although Ned chose not to travel with a guide dog, several of his blind friends did. Ned promoted the dog guide schools when speaking about blindness. He supported his fellow blind when they were hit by cars on the streets of Detroit. A “White Cane” ordinance passed in Detroit in 1936, and a similar law for the entire state of Michigan in 1937. The law protected the right of way for the blind traveler on city streets and the right to use public services such as movie theaters and restaurants. Yet too often Ned was called to remind the courts of the law’s existence. 

Ned died September 21, 1956, in Detroit,  while still in office. An election was held to fill his seat. A Black man, Elvin Davenport won the seat by more than 30,000 votes. Ned would have been pleased.

Peggy Chong is the 2023 Jacob Bolotin Award Winner.

To schedule The Blind History Lady for a presentation for your business, church or community group, email;  <mailto:theblindhistorylady at gmail.com> theblindhistorylady at gmail.com 

Purchase a copy of my book, Don Mahoney: Television Star at is new low price at 

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