Reframing Eleanor Roosevelt’s Influence in the 1930s Anti-Lynching Movement around a ‘New Philosophy of Government’

• Main Author: Melissa Cooper
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: European Association for American Studies 2017-03-01
• Series: European Journal of American Studies
• Subjects: Anti-Lynching; Eleanor Roosevelt; First Lady; Franklin D Roosevelt; National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP); Walter White
• Online Access: http://journals.openedition.org/ejas/11914

This article looks at Eleanor Roosevelt’s role in the 1930s anti-lynching movement. In particular, the article reinterprets the impact of Mrs. Roosevelt’s role as conduit between FDR and the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People. This article proposes that Mrs. Roosevelt’s correspondence should be re-contextualised around a fresh interpretation of President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s stance on lynching. In light of this, Eleanor Roosevelt’s early attempts at domestic diplomacy between FDR and the NAACP did not have entirely positive consequences.