Youth Status Report: Atlanta, Georgia: Fill & Download for Free

I asked this question in November. I feel like writing an answer myself. The short answer, for me, to this question is “yes.” But I’d like to elaborate.The press and TV news are already all in a tizzy about 2020. After covering NO issues of substance during the 2016 election – they just concentrated on the horse race, while also obligingly relaying the wiki leaks nonsense provided by Putin and Trump and Assange every night – CNN and the rest are impatiently hollering about the next horse race: It’s Beto ahead by a nose! And Biden 2% behind him in this poll, and 4% behind him in that poll …But the Fourth Estate has a responsibility to the public: to provide us with enough information to make an informed choice during an election. They should talk about candidates’ policy goals, and past histories, and encourage people to think, hard, about what it would mean to have one person or another in the White House. At no time during the 2016 election did CNN say: There have been nine debates and three town halls with Democratic candidates. Here are highlights showing what Hillary wants to do about the college debt crisis, and what Bernie wants to do, and the plan each of them has to raise the minimum wage. Or: Now that Hillary’s the candidate, here’s her plan on those subjects, plus green energy, plus prison reform, plus universal free pre-K for four-year-olds … and here’s what Donald Trump’s campaign says he’ll do on those issues …Never did they report on actual policy. Not one night. Not one hour. And that’s a real shame. So, if our major media won’t responsibly cover serious topics for us, we need to do it for ourselves.The media are conducting polls now, and chattering excitedly about people topping them. The people topping the polls have name recognition, rather than specific plans. There are lots of Americans wistfully wishing Michelle Obama would run, though she has never shown an inclination to get involved with the intricacies of nation and international policy (as a few First Ladies, like Eleanor Roosevelt and Hillary Rodham Clinton, did), or Oprah, because she’s Oprah. Many people respond to Joe Biden, I’d argue, because he’s a former VP, and they know his history of personal tragedy. Yet when Biden ran for president several times – he did not appeal to me or to many others who saw him interviewed and saw him debate. Biden can be brave, and can say eye-opening, good things – and he can also say and do quite off-putting and odd things. The recent Kavanaugh hearings reminded us of how he behaved during the confirmation hearings on Clarence Thomas, and it’s not a terribly fond memory. All in all, he’s a good man, but a strange duck, and neither his record nor his personal qualities shout out to me that he should be the candidate.I think some people gravitating toward Bernie or Biden want a Great White Father to come in and undo the chaos of the present moment. I have to say, the way the 2016 election played out has cured me of any leanings I may ever have had toward a supposedly wise, older, patriarchal Great White Father figure … That doesn’t mean I’d never support such a candidate, but it’s sure not something I think we need for its own sake, in an Age of Trump!Hillary lacked charisma as a speaker at rallies, and made mistakes in her campaign. But I watched her nine debates against Sanders and their three town halls. I thought they both spoke well and had mostly reasonable positions, and those exchanges were, God knows, more sane and substantive than the Republican debates. I also thought that she won them, again and again, as she went on to win all three debates against Trump. Their (her and Bernie’s) positions on most issues were not all that different, but hers contained more detail and more depth of field, and practical plans for how to get things done. I think her performance in those debates was a factor in Hillary getting nearly four million more votes than Bernie got in the Democratic primaries. It’s amazing to me how few people realize that – that they debated nine times, and that Hillary got almost four million more votes. Again, if the media did their job, more people would know. But I was not impressed by how Bernie behaved: how he put off conceding for months after it was clear he had no path to the nomination – and then the pouty, grudging, dishonest concession speech he finally gave: “She has more delegates than I do, and more super-delegates!” Yeah, dude, and she also creamed you, when it came to primary voters … Bernie didn’t mention that part. He created a false impression in the minds of his supporters that he had more votes, and I’d say he did it deliberately. Shame on him for that.By treating Hillary, throughout 2016 , as someone corrupt and suspect, someone he and his supporters had to “force” to do the right thing by getting tough with her campaign, which tried to work with him, and “holding their feet to the fire,” Bernie set the stage for Trump, Putin and Assange to sow division among Democrats, and to spread false rumors in bogus social media posts, and to cause Bernie people to wig out and wreck the Democratic Convention (over what? Over some DNC people in private emails saying we want to go after Bernie, and their bosses writing back, correctly: No, shut up, don’t do it?) and … ultimately Bernie’s attitude caused some Bernie supporters to vote for Trump, and others to vote for Stein, and lots of others not to vote at all.Throughout the campaign, reporters asked Bernie: “Do you think what you’re doing will get Donald Trump elected?” Each time, Bernie would reply: “No, because Donald Trump is a bigot, and the American people would never elect a bigot.” There’s a sad punchline to that story. Now, if someone asks Bernie about how he behaved during the 2016 campaign, he says: “I don’t think about the past, I think about the future.” That’s too bad. That’s not so statesmanlike. A real statesman reflects on his past actions, and learns from them. Real statesmen and stateswomen think hard, and hold themselves accountable. For all of these reasons, I have about as much respect for Bernie, after the 2016 election, as I had for Ralph Nader after the 2000 election. And that is not very much respect, at all.There are a lot of good people in the Senate. I’ve admired Elizabeth Warren for a long time, as a champion of Americans getting pushed around by the banks and corporate interests that call the shots in government. I particularly admired how her attitude contrasted with Bernie’s during the 2016 campaign. She may, like Bernie, consider Hillary too centrist, corporate and uninspiring – but she said to herself: Good God, what if Donald Trump won? Bernie and his supporters never did, and I appreciated Warren for being that much more of a pragmatist who lives in the real world, and really campaigning for Hillary – not giving a damn when the purists called her a sell-out.But here’s why I don’t admire Warren as much as I used to – or Cory Booker, or Kamala Harris, or Tammy Duckworth. I do not admire the group of over thirty Democratic Senators (plus Bernie) who leaned on Senator Al Franken to resign before the Senate Ethics Committee hearings that he had called for, and had a right to.Democratic senators to Al Franken: ResignSome may have regrets now, but they did what they did. In particular, I have contempt for Kirsten Gillibrand who led the charge. It’s possible that Al Franken sexually harassed women, repeatedly, and is a terrible person. It’s also possible that he was set up by the Roger Stone types who trade in dirty tricks in the Republican Party and do so much damage. Any senator who was part of that mob action has lost my confidence that they are a sober, thoughtful person who believes in due process, and if you want to know more about why, then here’s another Quora post I wrote recently:Judy Klass's answer to Could the Mueller investigation of Roger Stone reveal if he and Hannity planned with Leeann Tweeden to weaponize the picture Al Franken took with her, and build a false narrative around it, though they were friends?So, let’s talk about people who came close to winning in 2018. Andrew Gillum ran against contemptible Ron DeSantis, who was blowing racist dog whistles from the first, and there were “irregularities” in that election, as there are too often in Florida. It sounds like Gillum was a good mayor of Tallahassee, he’s concerned with early childhood development and helping kids get a good education and access to mentors, and also a constructive interest in having local police partner with the communities they serve. Sometimes I find him more compelling as a speaker than other times … but I respect him, and I think he’s someone to watch.So is Beto. Gillum is a Bernie person, further to the left, and Beto is incurring the wrath of some Bernie people because other Bernie people have gone over to work for him, and Beto is quite centrist. Since I’m not a Bernie person, I don’t really have a dog in that fight. The Bernie people fear that Beto will sweep up Bernie voters since Beto doesn’t take PAC money either and can seem like the same kind of purist:The Real Reason Why Some Bernie Sanders Fans Have It In For Beto O’RourkeBeto is not so much a Great White Father figure, so much as a Reincarnation of Bobby Kennedy figure who has some people excited. I’m not looking for that kind of guy to save us all either, but I’m not wildly opposed. Beto campaigned hard and talked to lots of people. He speaks well, and had some striking moments while debating the despicable Ted Cruz. I think he handled it well, when he explained to white people who are angry at black athletes who take a knee why that might be a patriotic thing to do. Beto is articulate and thoughtful. I don’t have big problems with his youthful pranks and arrests (though there might be concerns about how he’s handled the DWI arrest). I don’t have strong feelings about his punk rock days one way or the other – it’s all good. Punk rock bands can be cool, and he’s dabbled in creative writing, which I relate to and like. I think his interest in tech could be good, in terms of the US moving out of the Third World status Republicans are sliding us into. I think his interest in legalizing pot – it’s not a major cause I march for, but legalization has benefits for people who need medical marijuana and it can help get us away from mass incarceration and racist judicial double standards.But those causes of his don’t speak to me at my core. They’re not things that keep me awake at night. It seems like Beto fans are more caught up in his coolness, his look, his sincere, aw shucks quality, than in specific things he plans to do. The candidate whom I find to be a compelling speaker and whom I support enthusiastically for reasons of policy and substance is Stacey Abrams.Abrams has been involved in a lot of good causes – scholarships, the EPA – and like Beto she’s started innovative businesses. She’s pretty damned smart. She got hired to edit speeches in a Congressional campaign at seventeen – and her edits got her a job, at that age, as a speechwriter. I’ve read that in the Georgia General Assembly, she’s had to explain to Republican colleagues what their legislation says, whether she supports it or not. She has an impressive record of working across the aisle. Here’s an article from Time Magazine from last summer:Stacey Abrams Could Become America's First Black Female Governor—If She Can Turn Georgia BlueAnd here are some striking passages from it:“In 2010, Abrams was elected house minority leader, becoming the first woman to lead a caucus in either chamber of the legislature. Georgia, which had been mostly led by Democrats since Reconstruction, was undergoing a rapid shift to Republican dominance, and the 2010 Republican wave had put all statewide offices in GOP hands. Still, Abrams was able to gain leverage for the badly outnumbered Democrats through her command of the issues and by exploiting Republican divisions. The current GOP governor, Nathan Deal, is a business-friendly moderate who has vetoed religious-liberty and firearms bills. Abrams worked with him on criminal-justice reforms that have been hailed nationally for reducing prison costs without increasing crime. She worked with Republicans to secure the state’s biggest-ever public-transportation funding package and to prevent a popular scholarship program from being cut. In the gubernatorial primary, her Democratic opponent, former state legislator Stacey Evans, accused Abrams of being too willing to cooperate with Republicans.”The article talks about her interest in public schools, expanding Medicaid under the ACA, (I’ve read elsewhere that was her campaign’s top priority) and dealing with mental health and criminal justice reform. It says she’s liberal on social issues but a pragmatist – and give me a pragmatist over a purist who thinks he/she’s Joan of Arc, every time. The article says:“She likes to boast that she was once given a Friend of Labor award and an “A” rating from the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in the same year. Still, some of her proudest achievements aren’t bills she passed but Republican efforts she stopped. In 2011, as one of the Democrats appointed to a commission to study the state’s tax system, she argued that the Republican proposal to cut income taxes while raising a sales tax on cable service would increase the amount most people paid. When the committee ignored her, she asked the chair for an electronic copy of the fiscal model used to construct the bill. “He said yes, because he did not know what that was,” she tells me with a grin. Abrams took home the data and reorganized it by income level to show that 82% of Georgia families would see their taxes go up. She organized her findings by legislative district, put it into a color-coded spreadsheet and left a copy on every desk in the house. The tax overhaul failed, and on the campaign trail Abrams can credibly boast of having single-handedly stopped the largest tax increase in Georgia history.”That’s an impressive story.But what I find most compelling about Abrams is her concern with Americans’ precious right to vote – ‘cause that speaks to me far more than concern about people’s right to smoke doobies. (BTW, Abrams wants to decriminalize carrying small amounts of marijuana also.) I was scared, and appalled by Republican shenanigans in Florida in 2000. I got more scared when W’s administration ushered in all those easily hacked touch-screen electronic voting machines with no paper trail, often manufactured by Republican companies, that America is STILL using fifteen years later! I’ve been freaked out for fifteen years that Democrats don’t scream bloody murder about them. I long for a national standard that every election must have a paper trail, and the possibility of a recount that cannot be diddled.Every time I see a Republican voter roster purge (as with Jeb Bush and Katherine Harris in Florida) and voter ID laws designed to disenfranchise minorities and students and the poor and hit them with a kind of poll tax, and other voter suppression efforts that hark back to Jim Crow, my blood runs cold. It ran colder in 2013 when our Supreme Court gutlessly gutted the Voting Rights Act. When I watched how Republicans behaved nationally in 2018, not just in Stacey Abram’s state of Georgia, and not just in the South (can you believe the shameless stuff that went on in that county in North Carolina? That the GOP won’t repudiate?) but all over, I shivered with horror.I think those same things make Stacey Abrams shiver with horror. She’s more focused on them than I am, and she certainly has been more engaged than I have, than almost anyone has, in fighting back. She founded the New Georgia Project in late 2013, and raised money, and registered minority voters. She has been tangling with Brian Kemp for years – he was Georgia’s Secretary of State for years, suppressing the Democratic vote (in elections he ran in) and purging rosters and penalizing those who register voters, for years – and Stacey Abrams has been calling him out for it all that time.Here’s what the British paper The Guardian says about what Kemp did during the 2018 election:'Textbook voter suppression': Georgia's bitter election a battle years in the making“As of Friday morning, the unofficial election results show Kemp with a lead of more than 63,000 votes – a gap Abrams has closed from 75,000 since election night – in an election where nearly 4 million ballots were cast. In Georgia, a runoff is triggered when neither candidate secures 50% plus one vote, which Abrams’s team claimed could happen if she gains 25,632 votes.After Kemp’s resignation, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People president, Derrick Johnson, released a statement, filled with refrains echoed by other legal experts, civil rights figures and Kemp’s adversaries during and before the election.He said: “Kemp’s actions during the election were textbook voter suppression. His actions were strategic, careless and aimed at silencing the voting power of communities of color in the state.”Consider these numbers.• In the three months leading up to election day, more than 85,000 voters were purged from rolls under Kemp. During 2017 668,000 voters were purged, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.• Of those 2017 numbers, investigative reporter Greg Palast told Salon, 200,000 people left the state, died or moved out their district, making them legitimate cancellations. However, through litigation, he got the entire purge list. “Of the 400,000 who supposedly moved, our experts will tell a court that 340,134 never moved – wrongly purged,” Palast told the Guardian, saying people had been purged for not voting in an election or two.• Furthermore from 2012 to 2016, 1.5 million voters were purged – more than 10% of all voters – from records, according to a 2018 report from the Brennan Center for Justice. In comparison, 750,000 were purged from 2008 to 2012.”There were some hopeful and wonderful things that came out of the 2018 elections, but I found what happened to Abrams so painful – like the pain of what happened in the presidential election in 2016, all over again. Again, a woman who was the choice of voters was robbed of a chance to serve, in a country that likes to think of itself as a democracy – while a smirking, bigoted, law-breaking douchebag, (and Kemp is as indifferent as Trump to the threat Russia poses to the integrity of our elections) paraded around as the victor. Of all her eloquent moments, Stacey Abrams has had none more eloquent than this:'This is not a concession speech': Stacey Abrams announces lawsuit – videoAbrams has gone ahead with her promise to file a lawsuit – via her nonprofit Fair Fight Georgia:Lawsuit challenging Georgia election process filed by Stacey Abrams-backed groupJoy Reid on her show AM Joy, discussing who “won” the year, recently said she thought prosecutors won the year. With Republicans in the House and Senate continuing to renege on their Constitutional oversight duties – it has been Mueller and other prosecutors who have pushed back against corruption, obstruction and lawbreaking; they are the last bastion of defense for the system our Founders gave us. I see what Abrams is doing as part of that fight.I agree with Joy Reid’s frequent guest Jason Johnson that, while Beto and Gillum lost close races, Stacey Abrams was robbed, Stacey Abrams changed up the voting patterns in her state in the most impressive way in 2018, and she is the person to watch in 2020:Nobody Should Be Talking About Beto and Gillum in 2020 Until We Understand Stacey Abrams in 2018It speaks volumes about racism and sexism and the “image” we have of presidents in this country that there is such an obsessive media interest in other Democrats for 2020, and almost none in Abrams. The media are writing her off, as they wrote her off before the 2018 elections, while getting all tingly over Beto. They shouldn’t. She gave a recent TED talk and spoke of things to focus on, even when faced with disappointment:3 questions to ask yourself about everything you doShe says at the end of it she may be running in 2020. She may mean for the Senate or some other post, but I hope she’s seriously thinking about running for president. I think she’s absolutely the best person for the job: smart, funny, strong, unpretentious, accessible and relatable. People say: she’s heavy-set, she’s single, America would never elect her. But she knows how to turn negatives into positives: like Barack Obama did. When I heard, in 2004, (not long after 9/11 and our entry into Iraq) that a guy was giving a speech at the Democratic Convention named Barack Hussain Obama, I said: I’m sorry. America will never elect someone with a name like that. He could be a great guy, but it never could happen … And Obama got up at the convention and talked about how “Only in America could a skinny kid with a funny name get to be Senator.” And I was crying. And I thought: if this guy can turn those lemons into lemonade, there is nothing he cannot do. He’ll be president someday … Abrams has that kind of ability. People go after her because she owes so much in terms of debt. And she simply talks about Americans everywhere who are paying off college loans and supporting family members while working hard; she has that same instinct for talking frankly and reasonably, with humor, and connecting with people.Trump dumbs the discourse down, and panders to our fears and lizard brains, and people’s reasoning sinks to his expectations. Lots of Republicans do that. The Democrats I’ve always admired expect us to be smart, and they speak to us like we’re smart and sensible – and we rise to their expectations, and prove them right.I liked her the first time I heard her speak during the campaign. I didn’t know till recently that she was a Truman Scholar like me. I was glad to learn she writes romantic suspense novels, because I do unlikely, eclectic, non-Truman-Scholar-type things (write country songs, and musicals and Star Trek novels?) myself. (I’m also glad to learn she’s a Star Trek nerd, though I’m more a TOS person and I don’t dislike DS9 as she does; she’s more TNG and Voyager.) Her family prizes education, but she pulled herself up out of real poverty, like Lincoln and many of our great leaders. People who have been poor understand our nation’s economic problems in a different way – maybe a necessary way in this new Gilded Age.Some might say I’m wrong to like that she’s a woman – to want a woman president. But few Americans think it’s unreasonable that African-Americans felt especially proud when Barack Obama was in the White House. I wake up every day furious that Trump, a life-long con man, a spoiled, swaggering reality show star, a sleazy, traitorous, sexual predator mafioso, is in the White House. I’m angry at the people who should have known better who helped put him there – I mean everyone from “journalists” on CNN and at the New York Times to Comey to Bernie and others who should have thought harder and known better. (Getting mad at diehard Trump supporters for not thinking hard would be like getting mad at FOX for not practicing real journalism; why bother?) I’m angry at the sexism that pervades our society and that was part of Trump’s tactics and part of why those tactics worked. So, yes, I would like woman president after this awful time – but not just any woman. I want a woman of substance, not symbolism. Again, some want Oprah, but Oprah, being a smart and sensible person, is behind Stacey Abrams, the politically committed woman of substance: the ridiculously smart, clear-eyed idealist/pragmatist in a long-haul fight to protect the democratic rights of the people in her state. I don’t see any candidate anywhere who’d be as good a president as she would – and I sure hope she runs.

Infrequently there are those very sensitive beings born into the world who are true empaths. Michael Jackson was one of them. Michael Jackson’s mother recalls an incident when her son was watching a public service announcement on television about poverty and hunger in Africa. The film featured little Black children with swollen bellies and flies circling their mouths. Katherine remembers Michael as inconsolable reacting to the images on the screen. He loudly and emphatically proclaimed that someday he would help save these children. These unusual children have emotions that run high and deep; they feel other people’s feelings; their feelings extend into others and into spaces and situations. And they retain much of their “feeling into” faculties into adulthood.These are the healers, the poets, artists and dreamers of a society. They are the social activists, leaders and the charismatics who can inspire others to action. Michael Jackson was all of the above. These geniuses, however, are subject to their personalities with introvert or extrovert dominance, insecurities and social awkwardness or failings. With a teacher, guru or master an individual can begin to transcend the personality and the ego to become pure being with a thrust toward enlightenment– the embodiment of the Spiritual Self or a Soul-infused personality. Michael Jackson knew of this unusual path of the seeker and studied with teachers and learned discipline in meditation, Yoga, and prayer. His quest becomes evident to a fellow aspiring adept in his book and his short films (music videos.) Mudras (hand gestures) and spiritual messages are evident in his filmed concerts.Some artists are extroverts and great orators; others express themselves through their art. Jackson was not an orator. He was naturally shy off the stage and he hated having to talk to large audiences. He also knew the curse of adulthood and its ability to strip a human of his or her innate innocence, charm, wonder and awe and the creative mind; he gravitated to children because they retained the magic of birth, creation and youth. There comes a point, usually in the early teens when children learn how to manipulate through deliberate strategizing. They learn about hidden agendas. Young children do not have hidden agendas and they do not strategize in order to manipulate.The context Michael operated during his heyday was that he was the most popular superstar in the world and he was someone that especially poor children looked up to as someone who “made it” (out of poverty, out of the “hood,” out of the inner city, the ghetto, and all the other entrapments of financial distress.) He represented a way out of being Black and poor, a way to escape the hardship of the projects and gangs and domestic discord. Kids emulated him because he was their hero and they projected all their hopes and dreams onto him. He was the most famous man on Earth. Kids not only adored him, they wanted to dance like him, to be like him, and many wanted to be him.Many adults hung around him because of reflected glory, because of his money, because of his popularity—they all wanted something from him. But children loved him for himself—because he was young and playful and a kid at heart. He preferred the company of children to adults because of their innocence and lack of judgment and manipulation. So he focused on children and on supporting children’s foundations and charities. He is in the Guinness Book of World Records and being the most generous man in the world supporting almost 40 charities—most of the for children. He donated all the insurance money from his settlement with Pepsi when he burned his scalp to build a burn center. He donated all the proceeds from the Victory Tour to charities. And during the Bad Tour he visited a major hospital in every city on the tour and donated a large piece of medical equipment. Not just one piece for the tour; one piece for every hospital in the cities on the tour schedule. He also founded the “Heal the World” charity and Wrote “We Are the World” with Lionel Richie for the USA for Africa project which addressed the famine if Africa. Most of his philanthropy was aimed at children.His references to children include accolades to their purity and innocence– in other words, unfettered by the accumulated and internalized insults of adulthood that crush the spirit. Children don’t display the limitations of adults– the doubt, disbelief and cynicism that replace spontaneity, creativity, and uncensored imagination and awe experienced in childhood. The carefree spirit is tamped down in growing up and Jackson was determined to not let that happen. He preferred the company of children because of their energy and spirit, that part that is damaged in maturing to adulthood as the “practical” mind takes over and dreams are adjusted from fantastic to “realistic.”He didn’t know how to articulate this philosophy about childhood vs. adulthood, his own childhood interrupted, and painfully traded for other things: “Have You Seen My Childhood?” He was also too insulated from reality in the surreal world of the Jacksons, to know that hanging out with children wasn’t just socially awkward, but some would see it as criminal. In his experience, in a two bedroom home the size of a 2 car garage in Gary, Indiana, 7 children and adults piled together on beds in family banter or to watch TV. He never slept in a bed or room alone. Even the living room in their tiny house became a bedroom at night.The collective adult attitude toward children and the adult-child relationship changed after the McMartin Preschool Case horrified the public and brought to light the incidence of incest in rural America. At that same time, there was a kind of collective hysteria about Satanic Cult activity and repressed (later recovered or resurfaced) memories of children about ritual abuse. The characteristics of “ritual abuse” included repetitive rituals associated with malingering behavior toward children– for sexual or manipulative purposes.Many “therapists” who assisted with “recovered memories” and “repressed memories” of Satanic Cult activity were later debunked. The McMartin Case horrified the public and was a sweeping hysteria similar to the Salem Witch Trials in the 1690s in Colonial Massachusetts or the “Communist” witch hunts of Joseph McCarthy in the 1950s. The attitude and behavior of adults toward children would forever change after the McMartin case dominated the frenzied media. The McMartin family defendants were all exonerated but it took ten years. Meanwhile, the public was inundated with sickening descriptions of what the adults in a daycare supposedly did to children.This was the culture Michael Jackson, loved and elevated to cult hero status by kids, some of whom were dealing with their own nightmarish homelife of neglect or abuse– had to navigate in the 1990s. His rise to superstar was paralleled by the Mc Martin drama and aftermath where every breathing adult was under suspicion. Jackson represented hope to kids because of his lyrics, his runaway success and his meteoric rise to superstar. If they could “hang on” to Michael in some way, they could hang on until their eventual emancipation from whatever restricted their freedom.Michael was raised a strict Jehovah Witness, to respect women, especially his mother. He saw children as the humans closest to God, only recently leaving the Divine realms to incarnate as a human baby. He revered children. For that he was mocked.His philanthropy speaks for him:January 10, 1984: Michael visits the unit for burn victims at Brotman-Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles.April 9, 1984: David Smithee, a 14-year-old boy who suffers from cystic fibroses is invited to Michael’s home. It was David’s last wish to meet Michael. He dies 7 weeks later.April 14, 1984: Michael equips a 19-bed-unit at Mount Senai New York Medical Center. This center is part of the T.J. Martell-Foundation for leukemia and cancer research.July 5, 1984: During the Jackson’s press conference at Tavern On The Green, Michael announces that his part of the earnings from the Victory Tour will be donated to three charitable organizations: The United Negro College Fund, Camp Good Times, and the T.J. Martell-Foundation.July 14, 1984: After the first concert of the Victory Tour, Michael meets 8 terminally ill children backstage.December 13, 1984: Michael visits the Brotman Memorial Hospital, where he had been treated when he was burned very badly during the producing of a Pepsi commercial. He donates all the money he receives from Pepsi, $1.5 million, to the Michael Jackson Burn Center for Children.January 28, 1985: Michael and 44 other artists meet to record “We Are The World”, written by Michael and Lionel Ritchie. The proceeds of this record are donated to the starving people in Africa.1986: Michael set up the “Michael Jackson UNCF Endowed Scholarship Fund”. This $1.5 million fund is aimed towards students majoring in performance art and communications, with money given each year to students attending a UNCF member college or university.February 28, 1986: After having had a heart-transplant, 14-year-old Donna Ashlock from California gets a call from Michael Jackson. He had heard that she is a big fan of his. Michael invites her to his home as soon as she is feeling better. This visit takes place on March 8th. Donna stays for dinner and watches a movie together with Michael.September 13, 1987: Michael supports a campaign against racism. He supports efforts of the NAACP, to fight prejudices against black artists.October 1987: At the end of his Bad Tour, Michael donates some personal items to the UNESCO for a charitable auction. The proceeds will be for the education of children in developing countries.February 1, 1988: The Song “Man In the Mirror” enters the charts. The proceeds from the sales of this record goes to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a camp for children who suffer from cancer.March 1, 1988: At a press conference held by his sponsor Pepsi, Michael presents a $600,000 check to the United Negro College Fund.April 1988: Free tickets are given away for three concerts in Atlanta, Georgia to the Make A Wish Foundation.May 22, 1988: Michael visits children who suffer from cancer in the Bambini-Gesu Children’s Hospital in Rome. He signs autographs and gives away sweets and records to the little patients. He promises a check of 100,000 pounds to the hospital.July 16, 1988: Before a concert at Wembley Stadium Michael meets the Prince of Wales and his wife Diana. He hands over a check of 150,000 pounds for the Prince’s Trust, and a check of 100,000 pounds for the children’s hospital at Great Ormond Street.July 20, 1988: Michael visits terminally ill children at Great Ormond Street Hospital. At a unit for less critical patients he stays a little bit longer and tells a story.August 29, 1988: At his 30th birthday Michael performs a concert in Leeds, England for the English charity-organization “Give For Life”. The goal of this organization is the immunization of children. Michael presents a check for 65,000 pounds.December 1988: Michael visits 12-year-old David Rothenburg. His father had 5 years earlier burned him very badly in an act of revenge against his former wife.January 1989: The proceeds of one of Michael’s shows in Los Angeles are donated to Childhelp USA, the biggest charity-organization against child-abuse. In appreciation of the contributions of Michael, Childhelp of Southern California is founding the “Michael Jackson International Institute for Research On Child Abuse”.January 10, 1989: The Bad Tour comes to an end. Under-privileged children are donated tickets for each concert and Michael donates money to hospitals, orphanages and charity-organizations.February 7, 1989: Michael visits the Cleveland Elementary School in Stockton, California. Some weeks earlier a 25-year-old man had fired at the school’s playground. 5 children had been killed and 39 had been wounded.March 5, 1989: Michael invites 200 deprived children of the St. Vincent Institute for handicapped children and of the organization Big Brothers and Big Sisters to the Circus Vargas in Santa Barbara. After this event he invites them to his ranch to introduce his private zoo at his Neverland Ranch to them.November 13, 1989: The organization “Wishes Granted” helps 4-year-old Darian Pagan, who suffers from leukemia to meet Michael. Michael invites the little boy to a performance of Canadian acrobats.December 28, 1989: Young Ryan White, who suffers from hemophilia, spends his holidays on Michael’s ranch. Ryan had been infected with AIDS by contaminated blood transfusions in 1984. After he was excluded from his school in Kokomo, Ryan fought against the discrimination of AIDS victims.January 6, 1990: Michael invites 82 abused and neglected children through Childhelp to his Neverland Ranch. There are games, a Barbeque and a movie show provided for them.July 1990: 45 children from the Project Dream Street, Los Angeles, for children with life-threatening illness are invited to Neverland Valley.August 18, 1990: Michael invites 130 children of the YMCA summer program of Los Angeles and Santa Barbara to his Neverland Ranch.May 6, 1991: Michael is invited to the Jane Goodall Charity event. Michael supports her, an advocate of behavioral research concerning chimpanzees in Gombe, Nigeria for more than 30 years.July 26, 1991: Michael pays a visit to the Youth Sports & Art Foundation in Los Angeles. This Foundation supports families of gang members, and helps dealing with drug-abuse. Michael talks to the kids and presents them with a wide-screen TV set and a financial gift.December 1991: Michael’s office MJJ Productions treats needy families in Los Angeles with more than 200 turkey dinners.February 1992: Within 11 days Michael covers 30,000 miles in Africa, to visit hospitals, orphanages, schools, churches, and institutions for mentally handicapped children.February 3, 1992: At a press conference at the New York Radio City Music Hall, Michael announces that he is planning a new world tour, to raise funds for his new “Heal The World” Foundation. This Foundation will support the fight against AIDS, Juvenile Diabetes and will support the Camp Ronald McDonald and the Make A Wish Foundation.May 6, 1992: Michael defrays the funeral-expenses for Ramon Sanchez, who was killed during the Los Angeles riots.June 23, 1992: At a press conference in London, Michael makes an announcement about his Heal The World Foundation.June 26, 1992: Michael presents the Mayor of Munich, Mr. Kronawitter, with a 40,000 DM-check for the needy people of the city.June 29, 1992: Michael visits the Sophia Children’s Hospital in Rotterdam and presents a check for 100,000 pounds.July 1992: Michael donated L. 821,477,296 to La Partita del Cuore (The Heart Match) in Rome and donated 120,000 DM to children’s charities in Estonia and Latvia.July 25, 1992: On the occasion of a concert in Dublin, Ireland, Michael announces that he will give 400,000 pounds of the tour earnings to various charities.July 29, 1992: Michael visits the Queen Elizabeth Children’s Hospital in London. To the surprise the children, he brings Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse from Euro-Disney to the hospital.July 31, 1992: On the Eve of his second concert at Wembley Stadium, Michael presents Prince Charles with a check of 200,000 pounds for the Prince’s Trust.August 16, 1992: 6 year old Nicholas Killen, who lost his eyesight caused by a life aiding cancer surgery, meets Michael backstage in Leeds, England.September 1992: Michael donated 1 million pesetas to charity headed by the Queen of Spain.September 30, 1992: President Iliescu of Romania inaugurates a playground for 500 orphans which Michael has financed. Michael discusses his Heal The World Foundation.October 1, 1992: Michael chooses a concert in Bucharest, Romania for worldwide television broadcast. Bucharest is a logical choice due to the numerous orphanages the country is known for.November 24, 1992: At Kennedy Airport in New York, Michael supervises the loading of 43 tons of medication, blankets, and winter clothes destined for Sarajevo. The Heal The World Foundation collaborates with AmeriCares to bring resources totaling $2.1 million to Sarajevo. They will be allocated under the supervision of the United Nations.December 10, 1992: During a press conference at the American Ambassy in Tokyo Michael is presented with a check for $100,000 for the Heal The World Foundation by Tour Sponsor Pepsi.December 26, 1992: During a broadcast request for donations to the United Negro College Fund, Michael declares: “Black Colleges and Universities are breeding some of the leading personalities of our time. They are on top in business, justice, science and technologies, politics and religion. I am proud, that the Michael Jackson Scholarship Program enabled more than 200 young men and women to get a qualified education.”January 19, 1993: Michael is one of the stars to perform at the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton. Before he sings “Gone Too Soon” he draws the attention to the plights of the victims of AIDS and mentions his friend Ryan White.January 26, 1993: At a press conference held at Century Plaza Hotel in Century City, Los Angeles, Michael is presented with a $200,000 donation from the National Football League and the Sponsors of the Super Bowl. He gets another $500,000 from the BEST Foundation for his Heal The World Foundation. At this occasion the foundation of “Heal L.A.” is officially announced.February 1993: In association with Sega, launched an initiative to distribute more than $108,000 of computer games and equipment to children’s hospitals, children’s homes, and children’s charities throughout the U.K.March 1993: The foundation of an independent film company is announced. They will produce family-oriented movies. A part of the earnings will go to the Heal The World Foundation.March 27, 1993: At a meeting at Century Plaza Hotel in Los Angeles, Michael gives a 5-minute speech to 1200 teachers and politicians.April 26, 1993: Within his “Heal LA” tour, Michael visits the Watta Health Foundation, and two schools in Los Angeles South Central.May 5, 1993: Former President Jimmy Carter and Michael, who are chairmen of the “Heal Our Children/Heal The World” initiative, are in Atlanta to promote their “Atlanta Project Immunization Drive”.June 1993: Michael has announced that he will donate $1.25 million for children who have suffered from the riots in Los Angeles.June 1993: 100 children from the Challengers Boys and Girls Club visit Neverland.June 10, 1993: Michael promotes the new DARE-program. The purpose of the program is to inform children about the dangers of drug abuse.June 18, 1993: Michael pays a visit to a hospital in Washington. He spends several hours with the young patients and plays chess with some of them.August 1993: With Pepsi-Cola Thailand, donated $40,000 to Crown Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn’s charity, the Rural School Children and Youth Development Fund, in support of school lunch programs in rural villages in Thailand.August 1993: In conjunction with Pepsi-Cola International, donated new ambulances to the Contacts One Independent Living Center for Children in Moscow, Russia and the Hospital de Ninos Dr. Ricardo Gutierrez in Buenos Aires, Argentina.October 1993: Donated $100,000 to the Children’s Defense Fund, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation, the Atlanta Project, and the Boys and Girl Clubs of Newark, New Jersey.October 22, 1993: Michael visits a hospital in Santiago.October 28, 1993: Michael makes it possible for 5000 underprivileged children to visit the Reino Aventura Park, where the whale Keiko (”Free Willy”) is living.November 5, 1993: Michael is guest at a children’s party at the Hard Rock Cafe in Mexico City.December 1993: With the Gorbachev Foundation, airlifted 60,000 doses of children’s vaccines to Tblisi, Georgia.December 16, 1993: The Heal The World Foundation UK supports “Operation Christmas Child” delivering toys, sweets, gifts and food to children in former Yugoslavia.1994: Michael donates $500,000 to Elizabeth Taylor’s AIDS Foundation.January 7, 1994: On the weekend of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, Michael gives a party for more than 100 underprivileged children at his Neverland Ranch.February 22, 1994: “The Jackson Family Honors” is televised. The earnings of the show are given to their own newly formed charity, “Family Caring for Families”.August 6, 1994: Michael and his wife Lisa Marie are visiting two children’s hospitals in Budapest. They distribute toys to the ill children.1995: Michael wants to free dolphins who have been locked up for years. He believes there should be legal guidelines about the way dolphins have to live in zoos and parks.March 1995: Little Bela Farkas received a new liver. Michael and Lisa Marie met this 4-year-old boy during their trip to Hungary in 1994. Michael did everything to help Bela, whose only chance to live was getting a new liver. The Heal The World Foundation covered the surgery and the cost for caring.June 21, 1996: Michael donated a four-times platinum disc of “HIStory” in aid of the Dunblane appeal at the Royal Oak Hotel, Sevenoaks in England.July 18, 1996: In Soweto, South Africa Michael is laying down a wreath of flowers for youngsters who have been killed during the fights involving Apartheid.September 1996: The first Sports Festival “Hope” was held for orphans and disadvantaged children. 3000 children and 600 volunteers took part in the Sports Festival and Michael Jackson was a special guest.September 6, 1996: Michael visits the children’s unit of a hospital in Prague.October 1996: Michael visited a hospital for mentally challenged children in Kaoshiung, Taiwan and offered 2,000 free tickets to the sold out performance in Kaoshiung.October 1, 1996: Michael donated the proceeds of his Tunisia concert to “The National Solidarity Fund”, a charity dedicated to fighting poverty.October 3, 1996: Michael visits a children’s hospital and brings small gifts for the patients during a HIStory tour visit in Amsterdam. A room in the hospital (for parents who want to be with their children) is named after Michael.November 1, 1996: Michael donates most of the earnings from a HIStory concert in Bombay, India to the poor people of the country.November 7, 1996: Before his first concert in Auckland, New Zealand, Michael fulfills the wish of little Emely Smith, who is suffering from cancer, who wants to meet Michael.November 25, 1996: Michael visited the Royal Children’s Hospital in Melbourne, delivering toys, signing autographs, and visiting with children.December 9, 1996: During a HIStory tour visit in Manila, Michael visits a children’s hospital. He announces that a part of his concert earnings will be donated to the renovation of the hospital.January 25, 1997: Michael waved his personal fee for his Bombay appearance and donated $1.1 million to a local charity helping to educate children living in slums.April 4, 1997: British magazine “OK!” is publishing exclusive photos of Michael’s son Prince. The magazine pays about 1 million pounds for the photos. Michael donates the money to charity.June 18, 1997: Michael signed the “Children in Need” book auctioned by the charity UNESCO.September 1998: Michael meets 5 year old Aza Woods, who suffers from cancer, at the Hilton Hotel in Las Vegas. Michael introduces Aza to the attraction “Star Trek: The Experience” and spends the rest of the afternoon with the little boy. Finally Michael invites Aza to spend some time with him at his Neverland Ranch.November 16, 1998: Michael arrives in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is a member of the American Delegation invited by the Minister of Defense. The delegation thanks the government of Zimbabwe for helping to keep the peace in this area.September 4, 1999: Michael presented Nelson Mandela with a check for 1,000,000 South African rand for the “Nelson Mandela Children’s Fund.”January 22, 2000: During Christmas last year a violent storm ravaged the park of the Chateau de Versailles and destroyed 10,000 trees in the park. The estimated cost for rebuilding the park is around $20 million. Some celebrities are supporting the restoration of the park. French officials are reporting that Michael Jackson is one of them. He was one of the first people to donate money to this cause.October 28, 2000:Michael painted a plate to be auctioned for the “Carousel of Hope Ball” benefiting childhood diabetes research.March 6, 2001: Michael donated a black hat, a birthday phone-call and a jacket worn at the Monaco Music Awards in 2000 to the Movie Action for Children auction, an event being given by UNICEF with all proceeds will going to UNICEF’s efforts to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission in Africa.March 26, 2001: Michael handed out books to young people at a Newark, NJ theater. The event, which helped to launch the Michael Jackson International Book Club, part of his new Heal the Kids charity, aims to promote childhood reading and encourage parents to return to reading bedtime stories.September 15, 2002: Michael donated 16 exclusively autographed items consisting of CD’s, videos and 2 cotton napkins to aid in the support of the victims of a severe flood in Germany. These items were auctioned off for charity and managed to raise 3935 Euro (US$ 3,814).October 12, 2002: Michael Jackson invited more than 200 Team Vandenberg members, who recently returned from overseas deployments, and their families to his Neverland Ranch. This was to show his appreciation for the sacrifices the military in his community make.November 19-29, 2002: Michael donated an autographed teddy bear dressed in his likeness to Siegfried & Roy’s celebrity teddy bear auction. This auction benefits Opportunity Village which is a non-profit organization based in Las Vegas (USA) that enhances the lives of individuals with intellectual disabilities and their families. Michael’s autographed teddy bear raised $5,000 for the charity.November 21, 2002: Michael donated a jacket to the The Bambi Charity Event in Berlin which raised $16,000.April 25, 2002: Michael Jackson performed at a fundraiser for the Democratic National Committee at the Apollo Theater in Harlem helping to raise nearly $3 million dollars towards voter registration.June 2003: The Wolf family, who experienced serious damages to their belongings during the flood in Saxony, Germany last August, was invited to Berlin by Michael Jackson when he was at the Bambi Awards. On that occasion Michael invited them to Neverland. In June, they spent three days at Neverland, meeting Michael and his children.Charity AwardsMay 14, 1984: At a ceremony in the White House President Reagan presents Michael an award for special efforts; he is honored for his participation in a national ad campaign against drunk driving.January 1989: The “Say Yes To A Youngsters Future” program honors Michael in recognition of his efforts to encourage children to natural sciences and award him with the “National Urban Coalition Artist/Humanitarian Of The Year Award”.March 1989: At the Universal Amphitheater in Universal City, California, Michael receives the Black Radio Special Award for his humanitarian efforts.September 22, 1989: The Capital Children’s Museum awards Michael with the Best Of Washington 1989 Humanitarian Award in recognition of his efforts to raise money for the museum, and for his never-ending support of children.February 3, 1990: From Japan Michael receives a Role Model Award.April 5, 1990: During a ceremony, where Michael is awarded as “Entertainer Of The Decade”, Michael meets President George Bush, who honors him with the “Point Of Light” award. Michael receives this award for his philanthropic activities. President Bush explains Michael’s humanitarian commitments to the press.September 14, 1990: The Council of the American Scouts honors Michael with the first “Good Scout Humanitarian Award”. Michael receives this award for his humanitarian activities by supporting the Make A Wish Foundation, the Prince’s Trust, the United Negro College Fund and Childhelp USA.October 23, 1990: Michael Jackson and Elton John will be the first recipients of the award in memory of Ryan White, which will be handed over in 1991.May 1, 1992: President George Bush presents Michael with the “Point of Light” award for his continuing support of deprived children. During his stay, Michael visits little Raynal Pope, who had been injured very badly by dogs.June 3, 1992: The organization “One To One”, who is caring for better living conditions of young people, honors Michael with an award for his commitment to deprived youngsters.July 1993: The American Friends of Hebrew University honors Michael with the Scopus Award 1993.August 1993: The Jack The Rapper Awards are presented and Michael is honored with the “Our Children, Our Hope Of Tomorrow” award.November 17, 1993: Michael rejects the Scopus Award. He was nominated for this award, which was planned to be given him on January 29th, 1994.April 12, 1994: On occasion of the 2nd Children’s Choice Award ceremony at Cit Center in New York, Michael is presented with the “Caring For Kids” award. This award is to honor celebrities, who take time for young people. 100,000 children and young people from 8 to 18 years old gave Michael their vote of confidence. The Children’s Choice Awards are sponsored by Body Sculpt, a charity organization, that offers drug-prevention programs for young people.November 2, 1995: Michael receives the award “Diamont of Africa”.March, 30, 1996: The Ark Trust-Foundation, who wants to draw the attention of the public eye on animal’s problems, presents the 10th Genesis Award. Michael is presented with the 1995 Doris Day Award. He gets this award for the “Earth Song” video, which draws attention to the plight of the animals.May 1, 1999: At the Bollywood awards in New York, Michael is presented with an award for his humanitarian activities. The award is signed: “Though he comes from the young American tradition, Michael is the embodiment of an old indian soul. His actions are an expression of the philosophy of Weda, which asked to work for the people – not for one’s own interests.”OrganizationsThe Millennium-Issue of the “Guinness Book Of Records” names Michael as the Pop Star who supports the most charity organizations. The following projects are supported by Michael Jackson:AIDS Project L.A.American Cancer SocietyAngel FoodBig Brothers of Greater Los AngelesBMI FoundationBrotherhood CrusadeBrothman Burn CenterCamp Ronald McDonaldChildhelp U.S.A.Children’s Institute InternationalCities and Schools Scholarship FundCommunity Youth Sports & Arts FoundationCongressional Black CaucusDakar FoundationDreamstreet KidsDreams Come True CharityElizabeth Taylor Aids FoundationHeal The World FoundationJuvenile Diabetes FoundationLove MatchMake A Wish FoundationMinority Aids ProjectMotown MuseumNAACPNational Rainbow CoalitionRotary Club of AustraliaSociety of SingersStarlight FoundationThe Carter Center’s Atlanta ProjectThe Sickle Cell Research FoundationTransafricaUnited Negro College FundUnited Negro College Fund Ladder’s of HopeVolunteers of AmericaWatts Summer FestivalWish GrantingYMCA – 28th Street/CrenshawBig Brothers/Big Sisters of AmericaThis is the oldest mentoring organization serving youth in the USA.BBBSA has provided one-to-one mentoring relationships between adult volunteers and children at risk since 1904. BBBSA currently serves over 100,000 children and youth in more than 500 agencies throughout all of the United States.BMI FoundationFrom jazz to musical theater, from music education for gifted youngsters to support for the work of accomplished concert music composers, the BMI Foundation seeks out the best and most promising of today’s and tomorrow’s musical creators and offers a platform of support that fosters their growth and ensures the continuation of the heritage of American musical ingenuity for generations to come.Childhelp USAChildhelp USA is dedicated to meeting the physical, emotional, educational, und spiritual needs of abused and neglected children focusing efforts and resources upon treatment, prevention.Children’s Institute InternationalThis is a private, non-profit organization specializing in the treatment and prevention of child abuse and neglect.Over the past 90 years, CII has evolved from a shelter for single mothers and their babies to an internationally recognized model of comprehensive care and assistance for at-risk children and their families.CII assistance includes child and family assessment supported by 24-hour emergency residential shelter care, family treatment services, therapeutic day care, child health clinic, long-term foster family care, and substance abuse treatment and prevention services.Make A Wish Foundation fulfills the favorite wish of any child between the age of 2 ½ and 18 who has a diagnosed life-threatening illness.Camp Ronald McDonaldCamp for children with cancer.With 750+ Million Records SoldMichael Jackson Has Given More Than$300+ Million to Charities.

Eleanor Roosevelt, former President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s wife. Anna Eleanor Roosevelt (/ˈɛlᵻnɔːr ˈroʊzəvɛlt/; October 11, 1884 – November 7, 1962) was an American politician, diplomat, and activist. [1]Eleanor Roosevelt was the longest-serving First Lady of the United States, having held the post from March 1933 to April 1945 during her husband President Franklin D. Roosevelt's four terms in office, [1] and served as United States Delegate to the United Nations General Assembly from 1945 to 1952. [2] [3]President Harry S. Truman later called Eleanor the "First Lady of the World" in tribute to her human rights achievements. [4]Eleanor Roosevelt was a member of the prominent American Roosevelt and Livingston families and a niece of President Theodore Roosevelt. [3]Eleanor had an unhappy childhood, having suffered the deaths of both parents and one of her brothers at a young age. At 15, she attended conferred Academy in London and was deeply influenced by its feminist headmistress Marie Souvestre. Returning to the U.S., she married her fifth cousin once removed, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, in 1905. The Roosevelts' marriage was complicated from the beginning by Franklin's controlling mother, Sara, and after Eleanor discovered her husband's affair with Lucy Mercer in 1918, she resolved to seek fulfillment in a public life of her own. Eleanor persuaded Franklin to stay in politics after he was stricken with debilitating polio in 1921, which cost him the normal use of his legs, and Eleanor began giving speeches and appearing at campaign events in Franklin’s place. Following Franklin's election as Governor of New York in 1928, and throughout the remainder of Franklin's public career in government, Eleanor regularly made public appearances on his behalf, and as First Lady while her husband served as President, she significantly reshaped and redefined the role of that office during her own tenure and beyond, for future First Ladies. Her influence as a First Lady has been channeled by many First Ladies—including Jacqueline Kennedy, Betty Ford, Nancy Reagan, H. R. Clinton, Barbara Bush, and Michelle Obama.Though widely respected in her later years, Eleanor was a controversial First Lady at the time for her outspokenness, [women were to be seen and not heard—especially the First Lady] and particularly her stance on racial issues. Eleanor Roosevelt was the front runner on desegregation.Eleanor Roosevelt was the front runner of equality in the workplace with equal pay, status, recognition, and significance for their contributions. To name a few Eleanor had contemporaries in Claire Boothe Luce, (March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American author, politician, U.S. Ambassador and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play ‘The Women,’ which had an all-female cast. Frances Perkins, Industrial Commissioner of the State of New York, FDR appointed her to the Department of Labor. Nellie Tayloe Ross (1876-1977) was elected governor of Wyoming, becoming the first woman in the country to hold such a post. She was active in national Democratic politics and was named director of the U.S. Mint by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, a position she held for nearly 20 years. Mary McLeod Bethune became the first black American woman to head a federal agency when she was appointed Negro Affairs Director for the National Youth Administration (NYA) in 1936. Hallie Flanagan was appointed the head of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) in 1935. The FTP was part of the massive work relief program, the Works Progress Administration, which President Roosevelt launched a key part of the Second New Deal. Mary Williams (Molly) Dewson (1874–1962) director, Women’s Division of the Democratic National Committee, adviser to the National Recovery Administration (NRA), adviser to the Committee on Economic Security (set the parameters for the Social Security Act), and member of the Social Security Board [7]. She became one of the most influential figures of the New Deal. Ellen S. Woodward, (1887-1971) Assistant PWA Administrator was appointed to the Social Security Board to replace Mary Dewson. She was touted as Roosevelt's second most powerful women’s advocate.As First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt championed many social justice causes. In the 1930s she joined the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), pressuring her husband to pass anti-lynching laws, and gave up her membership in the Daughters of the American Revolution after that organization denied black singer Marion Anderson the right to use their segregated concert hall. She was present at the founding meeting of the Southern Conference on Human Welfare in 1938 and defied Bull Connor’s orders when she sat in the aisle rather than submit to segregated seating in the Birmingham, Alabama, auditorium. Eleanor advocated against the poll tax and, as World War II began, campaigned to end racial discrimination in the armed forces. Following her husband, Franklin’s death in 1945, Eleanor joined the board of directors of both the NAACP and the Congress of Racial Equality. That same year, President Harry S. Truman appointed her one of five delegates to the first United Nations (UN) General Assembly. Eleanor became the chair of the UN Human Rights Commission, and was critical to the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Eleanor Roosevelt met Montgomery NAACP activists Rosa Parks and E. D. Nixon during the Montgomery bus boycott, and also sent King a telegram inviting him to meet with her. She wrote about the bus boycott in her column, saying, ‘‘There must be great pride, not only among the Negroes but among white people all over the country, in the remarkable restraint and courage shown by the Negroes in their struggle for their rights in Montgomery, Ala., and other places in the South." King’s ‘‘insistence that there be no hatred in this struggle,’’ in Eleanor Roosevelt’s view, was "almost more than human beings can achieve’’ (Roosevelt, 22 March 1957).For the next several years, Eleanor Roosevelt and King enjoyed frequent correspondence. When King was arrested for perjury on his income taxes in February 1960, Eleanor joined the Committee to Defend Martin Luther King and the Struggle for Freedom in the South. Several months later, in October 1960, King was again arrested for his participation in a sit-in in downtown Atlanta. Of King’s arrest Eleanor wrote: ‘‘The people of the world will condemn—not Georgia, unfortunately—the United States for treating as a criminal a man who is looked upon with respect’’ (Eleanor Roosevelt, 28 October 1960). In her column, she continued to write in support of the sit-ins, commending the students’ ‘‘determination to do away with inequality between races and to have real democracy in the United States’’ (Eleanor Roosevelt, 6 February 1961). King expressed his appreciation, writing: ‘‘Once again, for all you have done, and I’m sure will continue to do to help extend the fruits of Democracy to our southern brothers, please accept my deep and lasting gratitude’’ (Papers 5:517).Eleanor Roosevelt was the first presidential spouse to hold regular press conferences, write a daily newspaper column, write a monthly magazine column, host a weekly radio show, and speak at a national party convention. On a few occasions, she publicly disagreed with her husband's policies.She launched an experimental community at conferred, West Virginia, for the families of unemployed miners, later widely regarded as a failure. She advocated for expanded roles for women in the workplace, the civil rights of African Americans and Asian Americans, and the rights of World War II refugees.Following her husband's death in 1945, Eleanor Roosevelt remained active in politics for the remaining 17 years of her life. She pressed the United States to join and support the United Nations and became its first delegate.She served as the first chair of the UN Commission on Human Rights, and oversaw the drafting of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Later she chaired the John F. Kennedy administration's Presidential Commission on the Status of Women. At the time of her death, Eleanor Roosevelt was regarded as "one of the most esteemed women in the world:" she was called "the object of almost universal respect" in her New York Times obituary. [5]In 1999, she was ranked ninth in the top ten of Gallup's List of Most Widely Admired People of the 20th Century. [6]Moore, Frazier (September 10, 2014). "PBS' 'The Roosevelts' portrays an epic threesome". Associated Press. Retrieved September 10, 2014.Rowley 2010, p. 294."Eleanor Roosevelt Biography: Diplomat, U.S. First Lady (1884–1962)", bio., Famous Biographies & TV Shows., A&E Television Networks. Retrieved December 13, 2015"First Lady of the World: Eleanor Roosevelt at Val-Kill". National Park Service. Archived from the original on November 21, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2008."Mrs. Roosevelt, First Lady 12 Years, Often Called 'World's Most Admired Woman'". The New York Times. November 8, 1962. Archived from the original on December 7, 2012. Retrieved December 7, 2012."Mother Teresa Voted by American People as Most Admired Person of the Century". The Gallup Organization. December 31, 1999. Archived from the original on November 21, 2012. Retrieved May 20, 2008.See, e.g., “Mary W. Dewson, Member 1937-1938,” Social Security Administration, http://www.ssa.gov/history/dewson2.html, accessed February 3, 2016. (2) Susan Ware, Partner and I: Molly Dewson, Feminism, and New Deal Politics, New Haven, CT: Yale University Press, 1987, p. 3-11. (3) Ibid., pp. 14-15. (4) “Mary W. Dewson, Politician, Dead,” New York Times, October 25, 1962. (5) See note 2, p. 204. (6) Ibid., pp. 176-179 and 189. (7) Ibid., p. 194. (8) Ibid., p. 257. (9) Ibid., p. 261, and note 4. (10) See note 2, p. 193.Reading Eleanor Roosevelt’s column in Lady’s Home Journal, listening to her radio show, her many speeches, interviews and news reports, she become my role model at age 9. I often channel her when the going gets tough. She firmly believed there are no limits except the ones we create in our heads. And her statement, “'No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.' is frequently quoted by many people.