When I began writing this book, I thought I knew a good deal about Eleanor Roosevelt. Certainly, I was aware of her unhappy childhood, the ways in which her husband’s extramarital affair affected her personal relationships, and how her unrelenting work as First Lady had bought her both high praise and intense vilification. I also knew that one of her great interests was in the civil rights movement.
What I didn’t know was how late Eleanor came to her involvement in this cause. It was not until 1933, as Franklin Roosevelt began his first term as president during the Depression, that she began to understand the corrosive effects of the United States’ subjugation of its black citizens. Eleanor came to see how detrimental this bigotry was to both African Americans and the country as a whole. In the process, she became more aware of her own feelings and prejudices.
This is the story of Eleanor’s evolution—how she used her megaphone and access to power to help those already on the front lines of social justice movements further their causes. At various points in her life, Eleanor Roosevelt was broken and had to remake herself. It was this growth that allowed her to evolve and to realize that she shared a common humanity with those determined to secure their inalienable rights. Fighting injustice became her life’s work.
Note: I struggled with which names to use for the people in this book. It seemed almost too forward to call Eleanor Roosevelt by her first name, especially later in life. But Eleanor the girl—the one who was orphaned and often fearful but tried hard to do her best—remained an important part of the woman she became, so I primarily use Eleanor throughout. Consequently, for the most part, I also use first names for others.