This quote by Eleanor Roosevelt captured my imagination for two reasons. One is that I had never come across it before. The second is that it is a clever metaphor......and I do love a clever metaphor!
Eleanor Roosevelt was first lady of the US from 1933 to 1945, as wife of Franklin D. Roosevelt. Her biography is fascinating and her accomplishments were many during her First Lady-ship and and the years afterward.
She had tremendous integrity and her actions set examples for the ideals she believed in. Here are just two examples of this woman's influence and involvement in policy-making:
- She not only used the media in an unprecedented way, holding 348 press conferences in 12 years, she placed a ban on all male reporters and photographers! This caused newspapers to hire more women!
- She was a member of the group, The Daughters Of The American Revolution, but when that group banned black singer Marian Anderson from using Constitution Hall for a concert in 1939, Eleanor resigned from the group and arranged another concert on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
There are SO many other ways that she advocated for social and economic justice on behalf of women, children, immigrants, minorities, veterans and laborers.
She was instrumental in bringing many issues into public awareness for the first time; issues that we are all too familiar with today. She was a true maverick who used her position as First Lady to create real change in our world.
I hope you find this inspiring. There is a lot of information about Eleanor Roosevelt via websites and books and I recommend reading more about her amazing life and work.
Have a wonderful week!
