Instagram booktv is our handle. Were kicking off today with an author discussion on Eleanor Roosevelt with emily wilson and National BookAward FinalistPatricia Bell scott. This is booktv on cspan2. Its live coverage of the southern festival of books. [inaudible conversations]. Since this session is being taped live, if you please use the microphone if we have time for questions at the end of the session, the microphone is over there, we will need the to end the session at 12 50. After that we will head to the book and author signing area where you will have an opportunity to meet the authors and have them sign your books. We cannot linger in this room. Thank you for your assistance. Professor of women studies at the university of georgia. She is a former contributor to miss magazine and cofounder to have National Women studys association. Her most recent book, the fire brand and the first lady, portrait of friendship, Paulie Murray, ellen nor roosevelt and struggle for social justice when the lilian smith book award and was named best adult Nonfiction Book of the year by the American Library association. It was also a finalist and long listed for National Book award. Emily wilson resides in North Carolina. As student at the Womens College in greensborouhg she pursued campus politics with vigor. She has been a writer, lecturer, organizer and advocate. Her book, the three graces of val kill, Eleanor Roosevelt and place they made their own has received praise of welcome edition to book and memoirs of the roosevelt family. Each author will read and discuss book for a short time. At the end, we hope we will have time to open the floor to your questions. Please join me in welcoming Patricia Bell scott and emily wilson. [applause] good afternoon. My book is the story of a decadelong friendship between Eleanor Roosevelt and Paulie Murray and im sure that almost everyone one in room knows a lot about Eleanor Roosevelt but but i thought it was it would be helpful who Paulie Murray was. Historians say, Many American historians say that when the history of the Human Rights Movement for the 20th century is written, one of the people who will stand center stage in that story is Paulie Murray, whether the issue is labor rights, womens rights or civil rights, Paulie Murray was there. Shes only begun to receive recognition for her contributions to the nation and some of the example of her of the work has to do with civil right, with womens rights and with labor and i want to just briefly say a little bit about some of them. For example, third good marshal legal team relied on legal team in crafting the brief for brown decision. You take a look at the essay and you look at the brown case, the brief, what you would recognize that shes clearly coarchitect of the brief. She planted the seeds for the womens rights project which blossomed under the leader of Colombia University law professor Ruth Bader Ginsburg who became justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and under her leadership the womens rights project blossom and Ruth Bader Ginsburg credits Paulie Murray as intellectual mentor. With the work she did in the church in issues on gender equality, she help today pave the way for two prominent bishops in the episcapal Church Harris who recently stepped down and elizabeth who is now in new york. First African American female bishop, female ordain. First of all, in durham, North Carolina, her childhood home has been named a National Historic landmark. If you go to durham, you can go and see her childhood home. Also just this past weekend, this past friday, her ama motto, Yale University dedicated the Paulie Murray college. Its a residential college, First College named after an African American, after a women and someone identified as lgbtq. Let me say a little bit about what i had hoped to do with this book. I had several goals in mind when i decide today write this book. I wanted to look at how it is that a woman who was the granddaughter of a mixed race slave and a women whose ancestry entitled to membership in the daughters of the American Revolution came together in a decades long friendship. I wanted to know what drew them together. I was very interested in what kept them together, how did they sustain this friendship. I wanted to know how did the friendship change over time, what were the dynamics of the friendship. I wanted to know what needs did the friendship satisfy in the two of them and what significance did it have for for the nation. And there were several things several surprising facts that i learned along the way. Despite the difference in family origin, and the fact that Paulie Murray was 26 years younger than Eleanor Roosevelt had several things in common, they shared the name anna which neither preferred or used, they both lost their parents as children, so they were raised by elderly kin, they were highly sensitive and had abiding compassion for the helpless, they they had a need for acceptance, they both were particularly devout in terms of their faith, they were lifelong episcopelians, readers and loved poetry and they loved to write, they were unpretentious, they both suffered ridicule for physical appearance. Paulie for boyish physique and Eleanor Roosevelt for teeth. They rarely slept because they had boundless energy, they would wear out their friends, but they also were not immune to low spirits. Paulie had mood swings until age 43 she was diagnosed with a thyroid disorder which on thed for some of her low spells and Eleanor Roosevelt manifested depression like symptoms when she felt that she was unappreciated or when she felt that she had failed someone. They both thought tendency toward shininess, if they know anything about paulie and eleanor they were shy and fought against that town outspoken. They both loved physical activity, they loved to walk, they loved being outdoors, they loved they loved, they meted many and loved to have the company of cherished friends and the friends included their dogs. Eleanor had favorites, scottish terriers and paulie had a soft spot for large breeds who were often strays. In the early days of their friendship, what we see or what i found was that it was characterized by tension, paulie was this impatient young upstart, erratical, far to the left of eleanor who really wanted dramatic change and she wanted change soon and eleanor on the other hand who was compassionate and who did not like many of the challenges paulie faced as a young brilliant africanamerican female wanted change but also felt that it was really important to work within the system. And i want to read just a brief excerpt from an episode involving an incident in washington, d. C. Where blacks were barred from seeing a play at the keith theater and Eleanor Roosevelt was affiliated with the group that put on the sponsored this event but she had a really hard time going because it involved protestors who were outside who were upset about the fact that blacks were barred and so she writes about it in her column, my day, and paulie writes her back in response to what she says. So let me just read this passage to you. This film was called a. Lincoln in illinois, it was a premier and the film adaptation of a Pulitzer Prize winning play by robert, it was put on the newspaper womens club which Eleanor Roosevelt was a member. When she arrived there was a line of protestors which the first lady and everyone had to pass to enter the theater and it marred the event for washington society. Eleanor roosevelt loved the film as much as she loved the play. Portrayal of lincoln on the screen and the stage never failed to move her. Having to walk by the protestors made the first lady uneasy and she discontinued her feelings with readers the next day in her my day column. She wrote, who were barred from all district of colombia theaters except their own. It may not have been quite fair wise to pick this particular show because the house had been taken over by an organization for the charity and organization had the right to sale this ticket to whomever it wished. Though this was not a strike whether question of unfair Labor Conditions was involved, it was somehow or another it feels unjust. Now, Eleanor Roosevelt may not have known that the prohibition on black patrons was not the only insult that angered protestors. The other had to do with lincolnlook alike contest to boost attendance, when the judges had selected the photograph of tomas, tall, lengthy fair skinned African American postal worker they refuse today acknowledge him at the premier as plan. For murray, the first ladys attendance at event that honored lincoln and discriminated against blacks was contradiction by the prospects that Eleanor Roosevelt did not understand how humiliating the situation was. Murray stood for over a week and then she shot off a response. Dear mrs. Roosevelt i was disappointed that you crossed a picked line, the continued daytoday embarrassment of a group is a greater hardship than the momentary embarrassment of the individuals who attended the keith theater performance of abe lincoln in illinois. Your article even though it reflected some indecision was a most effective result of the demonstration. The rights of minority groups are equally important, there can be in compromise on the principles of quality. Now, the next excerpt, the last excerpt i want to read, i chose for three reasons, first of all, it shows how this relationship changes. So this the piece i just read was from 1940, im going to read an excerpt about an incident in 1954 where they have reached the point where paulie is spending weekend at val kill and i also chose this because i thought about todays date, this weekend, october 15th, is the anniversary of hurricane hazel which up until recently was considered one of the worst hurricanes we had ever have to come up the east coast. I chose it also because its the anniversary of this weekend that she spent at val kill and this is the weekend brought about paulies need to get away and desired to give her respite. She had just had thyroid surgery. Vision problems, loss of memory, pick a fight with everyone stage that lasted through the summer of 1954. Side effects of the operation and her medications along with the relatives death increased her anxiety, too disoriented to write murray longed to get away to a quiet place in the mountains. If it wouldnt be too much trouble she asked Eleanor Roosevelt, may i hibernate for a few days, the idea to look at nature and not typewriter, eleanor told murray that she could bring her 21yearold niece bonnie, bonnie just graduated from Catholic University and paulie we wanted to make a graduation gift. On friday october 15th, 1954 at 5 00 oclock in the afternoon, paulie and bonnie met eleanor at her new york participant to the drive to park. The first reports of hurricane hazel had come the day before from haiti request curtain of rain had killed hundreds, made their way up the atlantic sea board of the United States uprooting trees, toppling houses, breaking power lines and blowing debris, thousands in the carolinas were left homeless and expose today contaminated water and broken sewer lines. In virginia washed ashore in the james river, in the district of colombia the potomac overflow and century old pecan tree was destroyed n. Delaware a woman was hurled to death. Wind gusts were 100 miles per hour. Brooklyn couple stepped on the live wire and perished, a 19yearold vanished away. Eleanor roosevelt seemed unconcerned about hazels havoc and the u. S. Weather bureaus of hazardous conditions. She napped in the front seat while her driver sped along the parkways driving to outrun the storm. Paulie and bonnie crouched together in the backseat. When they reached value val kill there was no electricity or water. Before they could unpacked, hurry up, we have an engagement at barks arr college and we dont want to keep them waiting. Eleanor has promised the students she would read to them from favorite books. Barr college was an hour away under normal conditions yet she fully intended to keep her commitment. Eleanor and her guests took off with driver navigating the car through small streams in and around fallen branches, at times the wind and the rain made it difficult for them to see more than a few feet ahead. They found tree blocking the entrance so they abandoned the car all by foot. The students having assumed that Eleanor Roosevelt would not come in such a storm were surprised that she and her party arrived. She took a spot on the floor in front of burning fireplace with student and guests around her. She read excerpts from win any winnie the pooh. Her reading so dazzled paulie that she concluded that the journey it was Eleanor Roosevelt offering a practical suggestion. Theres a Swimming Pool around the by johns house and nobody uses it this time of year, john was her son who lived on adjacent property. I just came back. I took my soup and towel with me, rubbed myself all over with the soup, looked up and down the road to see that nobody was coming and i went right into the pool and took my bath, if you hurry, you can do the same, just make sure that nobody is looking. Paulie and her niece were incredulous. [laughter] too shame to admit how eleanors proposal made them, paulie and bonnie put on robes and gathered soap and towels and their hope of going unnoticed was dashed when eleanors daughterinlaw anne came out and staired at them and they explained that they were following Eleanor Roosevelts introduction whereupon anne led them to the pool and the familys large dog happily joined them. No soon had they dipped toes into the water then they spotted a delivery truck coming toward them, were relieve today find the lights and hot water restored. Later over lunch, everyone chuckled at 7yearold sally roosevelt tale of seeing her mother bathe in the Swimming Pool and anne account of confused bat robe strangers wondering through the backyard. Paulie murray would never forget what a wonderful weekend it was. It is memory that paulie would call upon time and time again when she was trying to summon courage in the face of uncertainty. Thank you. [applause] the stories of Paulie Murray and Eleanor Roosevelt are just legendary and i would have driven all the way from North Carolina to nashville, tennessee to hear pat read that one. I commend the people who have put together this program because the similarities are just amazing. Pat has come here from her teaching where she has tired from the university of georgia where i almost went to college until i went off to school in North Carolina and it was in North Carolina that i met Paulie Murray. I had just met her, she had been the first who ordain black pt and she was delightful and came back on many occasions and to be here today with the biographer of this great book about the friendship of i Eleanor Roosevelt as i introduced my book of friendship is wonderful and thank you for flying. She flies and i drive, so we have come here by Different Directions but to the same purp. I invite you to look at the title of the two books. This is pats book, the first lady and i believe that it was the title that Eleanor Roosevelt called paulie when they had this Fiery Exchange of letters. My book is called the three graces, you couldnt ask for anything more different. The three graces and they were eleanor, mary anne and nancy cook, they were named the three graces by Franklin Roosevelt when he urged the Three Friends to build a cottage on the banks of the valkill criek on the east side of park exactly where pat is talking about that day when they swam in the swimming with this one difference. When they built the cottage, franklin signed a book to them for the three graces of the valkill, its wonderful to hear you say that Paulie Murray was a guest there but she was a guest in a house called the Eleanor Roosevelt<