“At all times, day by day we have to continue fighting for freedom of religion, freedom of speech, and freedom from want-for these are things that must be gained in peace as well as in war.”
This was a quote said by Eleanor Roosevelt who was famed as a First Lady and campaigner for human rights in the United States and worldwide. Specifically, Eleanor’s anti-racist views were well known. A particular striking story was when the black opera singer, Marian Anderson was not allowed to sing in the Constitution Hall in Washington in 1939 because of her color and Eleanor arranged an alternative performance on the steps of the Lincoln Memorials. As a result, Marian Anderson had an audience of 70,000 people that was broadcasted nationwide on the radio. She also spoke at civil rights workshops in Tennessee despite threats from racist groups such as the Ku Klux Klan. Following this Eleanor then swayed her husband (Franklin Roosevelt) to sign a series of orders omitting discrimination against blacks in his ‘New Deal’ programmes in the South. Furthermore, Eleanor was elected in 1946 to be the Head of the United Nations Human Rights Commission where she not only drafted the Declaration of Human Rights but also started the pressure group Americans for Democratic Action that mainly targeted domestic and social reforms to Russia and the Cold War.
Although there are other innumerable achievements Eleanor Roosevelt accomplished throughout her lifetime, the examples above give a basic outline of the impact she had on our world. Eleanor Roosevelt has personally motivated me because not only did she fight for human rights regarding different races, but also for women’s rights. I think this is important to note because at the time when Mrs. Roosevelt was first lady, both issues needed tremendous support and she was able to accomplish them both. What is so significant is the fact that Eleanor Roosevelt was able to fix the problem by examining the global picture. She was able to link the spectrum of issues to solve the fundamental core conflict occurring. The result of her initiatives had a cascading domino affect on solving even wider issues. She was able to synthesize and multitask many different components into her goal, leading to a compassionate result to advance human rights for all. I believe Eleanor Roosevelt is a very influential role model. This is because her accomplishments can be brought to focus in both personal and public ways. From managing workloads and stress at school to focusing on world issues such as the European Debt Crisis, Eleanor Roosevelt is a true role model for achieving balance even in difficult times.
Wow! That was an amazing blog post, Erin. It really gave me a glimpse into the achievements of Eleanor Roosevelt. I had never really heard about or even considered the First Lady of Franklin Roosevelt before today. It is very apt that you chose her as an advocate of human rights as she helped create the Declaration of Human Rights. As a woman in that era, it is amazing that she was not overshadowed by her husband's achievements and that she was able to make a difference in American society in a very large way. Roosevelt also had to face resistance to her movement when she was attempting to advocate human rights. In the end she succeeded both nationally and internationally. Thank for giving me some insight into the life of Eleanor Roosevelt.
ReplyDeleteAs well, I really love the quote at the beginning :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed your blog post about Eleanor Roosevelt, up until now I had not realized just how influential she had been, in the creation of the Declaration of Human Rights.
ReplyDeleteI also enjoyed the example concerning the Opera singer, Marian Anderson, and found it ironic, for in the end, she was able to obtain a much larger audience by singing at the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.
Eleanor Roosevelt was clearly an inspirational Human Rights Activist and I am glad that you chose her as your role model because I now feel that I know alot more about her and what she stood for.
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ReplyDeleteFirst off, I love your quote!! Eleanor Roosevelt is a truly influential and inspirational person and sets precent in all of her actions she took against racism and human rights violations.
ReplyDeleteAs a human rights activist, she is definitely a role model for people in today`s society.
After reading your blog, I feel much more educated about Eleanor Roosevelt! Great job!
I can honestly say I was unaware of all of Eleanor Roosevelt's great achievements. In my opinion she's particularly special because she did not just campaign solely for women's rights, she campaigned for rights in general which includes women's rights. This is a very effective strategy that obviously served her well in accomplishing her goals for the advancement of human rights.
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