Maya Smart

  • About
  • Books
  • Community
  • Calendar
  • Contact

Patricia Bell-Scott Discusses The Firebrand and the First Lady

December 8, 2016

In The Firebrand and the First Lady, scholar Patricia Bell-Scott illuminates the unlikely friendship between two historic American women. Radical civil and women’s rights activist Pauli Murray and first lady Eleanor Roosevelt corresponded for years and swayed one another’s social justice aims and strategies. Their views never converged, but Bell-Scott makes a compelling case that they grew with and toward each other.

“I started out being interested primarily in doing a biography, but then the friendship just drew me in,” Bell-Scott says of her decadeslong quest to capture the relationship and its impact—both on the women and the country.

Murray saw Roosevelt for the first time in 1934 at Camp Tera, a government-sponsored facility for unemployed women. Murray was an indigent resident, and Roosevelt was the camp’s visionary, visiting to confer with residents and ensure the camp was adequately staffed, equipped, and integrated. Twenty-four-years old, malnourished, and suffering from respiratory problems, Murray was exactly the kind of young woman Roosevelt meant the New Deal camp to serve.

Click here to read the full post at KirkusReviews.com.

Related

Leave a Comment · Books

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Hey There, I’m Maya!

Maya Smart

I’m Maya Payne Smart, a book lover and reviewer. I split my time between speed reading and slow writing, usually about dynamic women who lift as they climb. My specialty? Delivering life-changing reads to world-changing women.

About   |   Why I Blog   |   Contact

The Smart Take

Sign up for a weekly digest of news, reviews and tools curated by Maya Smart expressly for women who make things happen (or aspire to).

Popular Posts

  • A Farewell to Remember
  • Wonder Women: Sex, Power and the Quest for Perfection
  • Are You Hitting Enough Home Runs in Your Life?
  • Hair Story: Untangling the Roots of Black Hair in America (Revised and Updated)
  • When Books Are the Best Medicine: Fostering Literacy in the ER

Austin Lit Events

  1. Story Bar Lab: Spring 2019 Cohort

    April 2 @ 8:30 pm
  2. Jericho Brown Visiting Writers Series: Carrie Fountain

    April 16 @ 6:00 pm
  3. 2019 Agents & Editors Conference

    June 28 - June 30

View All Events

Instagram

  • Took care of some holiday shopping at @domainnorthside with a stop at Theory, Lush and Amazon. Great gifts for all the special people in my life and few treats for myself!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
--
#DomainNORTHSIDE #ShopNORTHSIDE #OurSideHasItAll #do512 #igaustin #litrich #austin360 #atxlife
  • No matter where I am on Thanksgiving, I always pause to reflect on the years of family feasts I enjoyed as a kid at my Grandma's house in Cleveland. Love and laughter were always on the menu along with turkey, dressing, greens and sweet potatoes. Here are a few great picture books I discovered at the @texasbookfest that help us celebrate grandmas and grandpas and nanas and paw-paws year-round. The special ways grandparents love, teach and relate to their children’s children is proven fodder for vivid, powerful storytelling. May they remind us of our elders’ wisdom, wit and care, as well as the role we parents can play in fostering space for those irreplaceable bonds to bloom.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
--⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#bibliophile #abmlifeissweet #kidsreadingforpleasure #literacymatters #readersgonnaread #childrensliteracy #morethanbooks #readersareleaders #readingisfundamental #litrich #familytime #thanksgiving
  • That nagging feeling, those recurring dreams, that idea that won't let go. Sit with them. Embody the lesson. Be free.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
--⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
#quoted #quotabelle #beautifullysaid #morethanbooks #litrich #quotesforyou #quotefortheday #quotesoflife #quoteslover #igquotes #pemachodron
  • Add camping—in a tent—to the things motherhood has made me do. I never thought of myself as the outdoorsy type but as a Girl Scout troop leader I’ve got to model the adventurous spirit we wish for our girls. So here we are at Pedernales Falls State Park for the Walnut Creek Service Unit Fall Campout. Yes, I am wearing a fanny pack. This is definitely one for the books!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Photo by @instaeileen
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
--
#riseandclimb #gsctx #flashesofdelight #thehappynow #weekendvibes #livemoremagic #lessworkmorelife #simpleandstill #theslowdowncollective #howyouglow
  • I was traveling last week and missed The Library Foundation's Stories Gala, an incredible celebration of my very favorite library. Looks like my mom did a great job keeping the party going in my absence.  Thanks to everyone who raised funds and awareness to keep @austinpubliclibrary resources and programming strong. Nothing says community like a vibrant public library!
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
—
#aplambassador #bibliophile #flashesofdelight #abmlifeissweet #familyphoto #literacymatters #readersgonnaread #childrensliteracy #morethanbooks #readersareleaders #do512 #igaustin #litrich

Copyright © 2019 · Maya Smart. All Rights Reserved. · Privacy Policy · Terms & Conditions · Comment Policy.