Fireside Chat: Eleanor Roosevelt, Mary McCloud Bethune, and the Fight for Equal Rights

• Sunday, February 16 @ 5:00 pm
• Lewes Public Library, Lewes, DE

Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune were two of the greatest champions of equal rights for Black Americans in the 20th century. They first met at a dinner for the National Council for Women in 1927, hosted by Eleanor’s mother-in-law Sara Delano Roosevelt. Bethune was the only Black woman there and sensing her discomfort Sara took her by the arm and seated her next to Eleanor. It was the start of a lifelong friendship and political alliance. Born to parents who had been enslaved, Bethune rose to become the highest-ranking Black member in the Roosevelt Administration. Ebony magazine crowned her the “First Lady of Negro America.” She was the leader of Roosevelt’s Black Cabinet and her friendship with Eleanor gave her direct access to the president.

Eleanor and Mary teamed up for many important initiatives during a period when white women of her class did not associate with Black women, except as domestic workers. They fought to have more Black men and women hired by the federal government, fought for better pay, and fought to have New Deal benefits be distributed to the Black community in a fair way. Sometimes they succeeded, and even when they failed, they helped transform public opinion about the role of the Black Community in American society.

This event is part of the Fireside Chats, a program series organized by Paul M. Sparrow, and is co-presented by Chanta Wilkinson and Paul M. Sparrow.

NOTE: this session is available to attend in-person or through Zoom. You MUST REGISTER and indicate which you prefer. Each in-person attendee must register separately.

Free History & Culture Lectures & Workshops Libraries Southern Delaware

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