Black Braintrusters Summary and Analysis

Franklin D. Roosevelt, elected President in 1932, is not a proponent of Black rights. The relief acts put in place after the Great Depression are not equal. In 1934, Eleanor Roosevelt becomes active in the issue prompting change among those in power to enact it. Blacks support FDR's second term and Roosevelt begins appointing Blacks to specific roles in the government, including Cabinet divisions. These appointments are called "Black Braintrusters" or "the Black Cabinet," and Mary McLeod Bethune is among the appointments. As the first woman appointed to such a position, Bethune refuses to allow others to ignore the significance of the appointment.

Bethune and others believe there are advantages to remaining segregated including the fact that Blacks can more readily oversee the needs of Blacks than Whites who believe themselves sympathetic. It's noted that one of her faults is that...