Today is Eleanor Roosevelt's birthday. I grew up hearing about her. Here are some things that I did not know. These facts are from an article by Doris Kearns Goodwin at http://www.time.com/time/time100/leaders/profile/eleanor.html.
I had no idea that Eleanor Roosevelt was a disappointment to her mother because she wasn't pretty. I did not know that she was very insecure and shy! I thought that she always had her dynamic personality. I did not know that her strength and determination came after she discovered that her husband was having a passionate affair. Instead of hibernating and pitching a public tantrum, she became a national hero to the oppressed.
I wish I could have seen people's faces when she publicly resigned from the Daughters of the American Revolution after it barred the black singer Marian Anderson from its auditorium. She also went up against organizations that would not to give equal opportunity for women. She used her power and position as the First Lady and held over 300 press conferences that she cleverly restricted to women journalists. Of course this strongly encouraged news organizations all over the country to hire their first female reporter in order to have access to the First Lady.
Here are my favorite quotes by her:
No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.
Great minds discuss ideas; average minds discuss events; small minds discuss people.
As for accomplishments, I just did what I had to do as things came along.
Do what you feel in your heart to be right- for you'll be criticized anyway. You'll be damned if you do, and damned if you don't.
Never allow a person to tell you no who doesn't have the power to say yes.
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