ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

FIRST LADY | AUTHOR | HUMAN RIGHTS ADVOCATE

It is said Eleanor Roosevelt was hungry for affection and felt like an ugly duckling all her life. Maybe because of this she did not abide by the attitudes of the generation into which she was born and assumed roles that confirmed she was a force to be reckoned with.

At seventeen, she met, then later married her fifth cousin, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Eleanor married into politics for love but did not anticipate her own potential to affect the US government – and global history.

Well before her husband became President in 1933, she had already proved herself as sage a politician as he was. She led youth movements and women’s organizations, and in every forum fought for the ideals of liberty and human rights.

Eleanor stood up for the oppressed and revolutionized the role of wives - particularly by redefining the role of First Lady. After her husband’s death she became an outspoken United Nations Delegate, Chairman of the Commission on Human Rights, a newspaper columnist, Democratic party activist and diplomat.

As Chair of the United Nations Human Rights Commission, her greatest legacy is the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a charter of liberties published in 1948. In it, she advocated for the civil rights of African and Asian Americans, encouraged expanded workplace roles for women and promoted the rights of World War II refugees. Regardless of color, creed, or religion, this document deemed all humans equal.