Eleanor Roosevelt

I re-acquainted myself with Eleanor Roosevelt last weekend when I received the Eleanor Roosevelt medal for public service at Val-Kill, her Hyde Park retreat.

When asked who my role models were, Eleanor Roosevelt led the list. My mother read her column "My Day" every day. I discovered she wrote 8,000 of these columns, often working late into the night. I must have read over my mother's shoulder, because I, too, was in awe of Mrs. Roosevelt, her travels around the world, her attention to the poor and the powerless.

Before the ceremony we were given a tour of Val-Kill by her grandson Elliot, and Doris Mack, who had worked for the family. I was struck by the modesty of the house and its furnishings. Photographs lined the walls of every room; Eleanor and Truman, Eleanor and Kennedy, Eleanor and the Queen of England, Eleanor (Elliot called her grandmere) and the numerous grandchildren. No paintings. She wanted to be surrounded by people.

Doris Mack pointed out the elegant china in the dining room, and then referred to the water glasses and the picture frames, "probably bought in the ten cent store."

In the living room she explained, "None of the furniture pieces matched, just like the people she invited to her home--they came from all walks of life."

Eleanor was very good to her staff but she couldn't keep a cook. "They would quit after two weeks."

"Why?" we asked.

"Because she would keep inviting people she met during the day for dinner, and would forget to tell the cook."

Once, on the cook's day off, three people showed up at the door. Eleanor had forgotten that she had invited them. There was no food in the house. What did she serve them?

"Scrambled eggs, toast, and champagne."

In my research for my remarks, I found the resignation letter that Mrs. Roosevelt wrote to the DAR (Daughters of the American Revolution) when that organization refused to permit Marian Anderson to sing at Constitution Hall in 1939. Instead, Mrs. Roosevelt arranged for her to sing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial, before a crowd of thousands.

I was surprised by its directness and simplicity. I read the typed letter out loud.

"My dear Mrs. Henry M." (the "Henry M." was inserted in ink, as an afterthought) "Roberts:

"I am afraid that I have never been a very useful member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, so I know it will make very little difference to you whether I resign, or whether I continue to be a member of your organization.

"However, I am in complete disagreement with the attitude taken in refusing Constitution Hall to a great artist. You have set an example which seems to me unfortunate, and I feel obliged to send in to you my resignation. You had an opportunity to lead in an enlightened way and it seems to me that your organization has failed.

"I realize that many people will not agree with me, but feeling as I do this seems to me the only proper procedure to follow."

Mrs. Roosevelt, I noted, had the courage to act-and with that simple gesture, she changed lives.

Eleanor today remains famous for her succinct wise words. One quote that appeals to me at this stage of my life is: "When you cease to make a contribution, you begin to die."

In my remarks after I received the medal, I quoted this line:

"Courage is more exhilarating than fear and in the long run, it is easier."

Courage is what I learned most from Mrs. Roosevelt. I noted that our lives were very different; she came from a privileged background and a political family. I did not have either, having been an immigrant to this country and raised by a single parent.

What we had in common is that we had re-invented our lives. She had no role models for the kind of First Lady that she wanted to be. She had to make herself up from scratch.

I, and the other woman who received a medal, retired New York chief judge Judith Kaye, also had few role models. With the help of the women's movement, and the encouragement of others, we allowed ourselves to dream and to strive.

Like Eleanor, I too, needed the support of my women friends when I embarked on a political life. I could relate to Val-Kill where Eleanor met with the people who were closest to her, who loved her, unconditionally.

Lynn Rothwell was the mother of the woman who introduced me at the medal ceremony, Mary Rothwell Davis. She was one of a small circle of friends who sustained me throughout my years of public life. They stood by me, no matter how I voted or what I said.

In the audience, I could point to my husband, brother, daughter and some of my former staff and several good friends. I acknowledged the obvious; none of us win medals by ourselves.

The Friday before the event I had received an e-mail from the Pomfret, Vermont elementary school. I read it from the podium.

"Dear Mrs. Kunin. Congratulations on receiving your award on Sunday in Hyde Park. We are very proud of your accomplishments and as a leader, who just happens to be a woman. We are all involved in the leadership group at the Pomfret Elementary School where we are 6th graders. You are our modern Eleanor Roosevelt!

"Morgan Hartman, Anna Tracey, Hayley Usilton, Dana Burrington, Jocelyn Hewitt and Kaelen Heaton."

The true meaning of ceremonies like this, I discovered, is not what they convey to the person being honored, but the message such events send to others.

 
Madeleine M. Kunin is the former Governor of Vermont and was the state's first woman governor. She served as Ambassador to Switzerland for President Clinton, and was on the three-person panel that chose Al Gore to be Clinton's VP. She is the author of Pearls, Politics, and Power: How Women Can Win and Lead from Chelsea Green Publishing.

Cross-posted on ChelseaGreen.com.

 

 

Comments

[Ed Gurowitz, Ph.D. - Huffpost Blogger]

Madeline,

As one who can say "I knew you when" back in Burlington in the 70's, I can't think of a better person for this award, and that fact is illustrated by your writing about Eleanor Roosevelt rather than about yourself. Notwithstanding that, I know that you genuinely deserve this as an heir(ess) to Mrs. Roosevelt's courage, commitment, and pioneering spirit.

Mazel tov,

Ed Gurowitz

[Taildrag]

Don't forget Frances Perkins, who as Secretary of Labor under Roosevelt became the first woman cabinet member.

She was another giant in changing America, and makes one wonder if there will ever be others like her and Eleanor Roosevelt.

How petty and powerless today's women seem in comparison to those two. The men too, for that matter!

If Hillary had won, who knows if we'd even be so close to health care reform? One thing we know, the Repugs couldn't get more recalcitrantly obstructionists than they are now, or at least, so one hopes!

Facing worse economic conditions than we do now, FDR and Eleanor Roosevelt probably did more to help Americans in need than any other presidential couple.

Eleanor helped pass the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Man, and in his last State of the Union Address, FDR again called for a "second Bill of Rights" which include medical care for all. He died, and Truman was rebuffed when he tried to foster universal health care.

It's a tragedy that the people who lived through that era and know the history of these giants personally are rapidly dying off.

[Polly]

What a wonderful article - although I am 60 I have not read enough on the great E. Roosevelt. Something I will have to take care of!

[Economike]

Blanche Wiesen Cook's bio of ER was really good, it comes in multiple vols, part two 1933-1938 was the one I read.

[Blixa]

I never get tired of the story of Roosevelt leaving the DAR because of Marion Anderson. Roosevelt did indeed change lives with that gesture. My grandmother, then a very young woman (and proud Vermonter BTW), took her lead and also left the DAR. She has been vocal about civil rights ever since.

Congratulations to you, another great role model.

[Alison Rose Levy - Huffpost Blogger]

Thank you for this wonderful piece on one of my heroines-- she was so far ahead of her time, so committed, so caring, so courageous.

I was fortunate to meet Eleonor Roosevelt as a little girl at a Democratic fundraiser in NYC-- a great memory. There's no doubt that she was a role model for my work in public service as a journalist.

Thanks so much for embodying all she stood for.

Alison

[Sheldon101]

"This colemn will appear the day after the anniversary of my husband's death. On that day, those who think of him with gratitude are always particularly thankful for the National Foundation. Without the work of the foundation, the Salk vaccine would perhaps not have been developed for many years. Now that we have it, all of us should at least make sure that we and our children are protected from the recurrence of polio epidemics, which always produce a sharp rise in paralytic polio cases.

The epidemic season is again approaching, yet 98 million Americans still have not had a single shot of Salk vaccine. To be fully safeguarded, you should have three shots. There are special instances where people cannot be safeguarded, but the great majority, if they will take the shots, can be spared this dread disease."
-- Elanor Roosevelt "My Day: April 13, 1959
http://www.gwu.edu/~erpapers/myday/displaydoc.cfm?_y=1959&_f=md004404

If Mrs. Roosevelt was truly your role model, then you could never have written such anti-vaccinaton drivel as you did in your own Huffington-Post blog.

[Alison Rose Levy - Huffpost Blogger]

Dear Sheldon:

No matter how deeply held one's views, I don't consider it in keeping with the spirit of caring of Eleanor Roosevelt to throw around terms, and misguidedly label those who you perceive as not in complete accord with you as "anti-vacc­inationist­s."

If your purpose is to win an argument only, then by all means continuing do o.

But my goal, in the midst of a contentious health care debate that raises a great deal of emotion because the lives and health of so many people are effected, is very different. As a long time health reporter and journalist, who does not oppose vaccinations, I would always want to be willing to listen to both sides, and to find a way to build a bridge to resolve their differences, rather than fanning the flames of contention and divisiveness.

I feel that if Mrs. Roosevelt was alive today, she would seek that as well.

I invite those wishing to inform themselves and to heal these wounds to read my blog and associated comments at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alison-rose-levy/a-guide-for-the-perplexed_b_32

Many thanks, Sheldon!

Alison

[larry278]

BTW, FDR made a speech to the ladies of the DAR; he stared by saying, "My fellow immigrants..."/

[BettyG]

Eleanor Roosevelt was cool.

[bigfated]

So, it seems, is Ms. Kunin. She reminded me of the Mrs. Roosevelt who was a part of my growing up.

[larry278]

Way cool, Betty G. My mother admired Eleanor till my mother died & after Eleanor had died. Many kids who grew up from 1933 till Eleanor died learned to emulate Eleanor in their own way. I continue to admire Eleanor when I hear of R Carter, H Clinton & M Obama. Eleanor blaze the path that these women used to become more than simply a wife of a President of the USA. Eleanor's example empowerd many Americans to better themselves. Eleanor was way cool & then some. Eleanor was all that, plus!

[larry278]

Typo: blaze should read blazed.