The First Lady of the Struggle

Mary McLeod Bethune acted as leader of the Black Cabinet. Bethune was a friend and confidante of Eleanor Roosevelt and FDR held her in high regard. She used her unique connection to the Roosevelts to bring race-related issues directly to the President. Photograph: Library of Congress Much of the success of the Black Cabinet was … Continue reading The First Lady of the Struggle

Irvin and Elizabeth McDuffie

“Throughout the nation today, colored men and women are playing the part in the government under President Roosevelt’s New Deal that we have awaited . . . these seventy years which have passed since President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation.”                    —Elizabeth McDuffie, Campaign Speech, St. Louis, Missouri, 1936  Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie, two Black … Continue reading Irvin and Elizabeth McDuffie

Remembering President Warren G. Harding (1865-1923)

President Warren G. Harding's body lying in state in the East Room of the White House. Image from the Library of Congress https://lccn.loc.gov/2006683674 by Kevin Thomas, Archives Technician August 2, 2023, marks the 100th Anniversary of the sudden death of Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States. The news, no doubt, shocked Americans, … Continue reading Remembering President Warren G. Harding (1865-1923)

Special Exhibition Highlight: Walter White

Walter White was a Black American civil rights leader and executive secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) from 1929 to 1955. Born into a prominent family in Atlanta, Georgia in 1893, he was a graduate of Atlanta University. White joined the NAACP in 1918 and gained prominence for his … Continue reading Special Exhibition Highlight: Walter White

Special Exhibition Highlight: Marian Anderson

“If you have a purpose in which you can believe, there’s no end to the amount of things you can accomplish.” Marian Anderson by Kirsten S. Carter, Supervisory Archivist Born February 27, 1897, Marian Anderson first sang publicly at age six with the Union Baptist Church choir in her home city of Philadelphia. Backed by … Continue reading Special Exhibition Highlight: Marian Anderson

The Year Of Two Thanksgivings

On Thanksgiving Day, November 23, 1939, Franklin Roosevelt carved the turkey at the annual Thanksgiving Dinner at Warm Springs, Georgia, and wished all Americans across the country a Happy Thanksgiving. Unfortunately, his greeting went unanswered in some states; many Americans were not observing Thanksgiving on the same day as the President. Instead, they were waiting … Continue reading The Year Of Two Thanksgivings

Queen Elizabeth II

“I have the greatest respect for this young woman who must combine the responsibilities of a Queen with the requirements and emotional stresses of a young mother. I think, too, the British people are fortunate in having the royal family to hold them together. Everywhere you go, you see that the Queen, Prince Philip, the … Continue reading Queen Elizabeth II

Roosevelt, Commander in Chief

Franklin D. Roosevelt with Winston Churchill at the Casablanca Conference, Casablanca, Morocco. January 18, 1943. NPx 48-22:186 Cooperation, n. 1. Act of cooperating; joint operation; concurrent effort or labor.    -        Webster’s New International Dictionary (Second Ed.) By Kevin Thomas, Archives Technician Since America’s entry into the war in 1941, President Franklin D. Roosevelt had recognized … Continue reading Roosevelt, Commander in Chief