The Leadership of Eleanor Roosevelt with Allida Black and Jon Meacham

What can Eleanor Roosevelt’s life and legacy teach us about leadership, citizenship, and the ongoing pursuit of a more perfect union? Join us on Wednesday, October 28 at noon for a special America250 conversation with Allida Black, the 2024 Lewis L. Gould Award winner, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jon Meacham, moderated by Michael Cooper, executive director and executive vice president of the American Society of International Law. Drawing on Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton’s contribution to More Perfect’s "In Pursuit" essay series, which explores Roosevelt’s leadership, and Meacham’s recent book, “American Struggle: Democracy, Dissent, and the Pursuit of a More Perfect Union,” the discussion will explore Roosevelt’s enduring influence and the democratic values that continue to shape our nation. Courageously outspoken, Eleanor Roosevelt served as the chair of the United Nations Human Rights Commission and was instrumental in formulating the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which she submitted to the United Nations General Assembly with these words: “We stand today at the threshold of a great event both in the life of the United Nations and in the life of mankind. This declaration may well become the international Magna Carta for all men everywhere.” The program will be available on our YouTube channel the following day. ASL interpretation is available during our events. This program is presented by the Clinton Foundation and the Clinton Presidential Library. More about the speakers Allida Black, Ph.D., the Beth Newburger Schwartz Professor of Practice at the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace, and Security, directs the Hillary Rodham Clinton Oral History Project. She is also a Distinguished Fellow of the Rothermere American Institute at the University of Oxford and a senior advisor to Secretary Clinton. Before coming to Georgetown, her academic career included appointments as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the University of Virginia and Research Professor of History and International Affairs at The George Washington University. An expert on Eleanor Roosevelt and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, she has published ten books and multiple articles on women, politics, and human rights policy. Outside the academy, she works with multinational and non-governmental organizations to promote and defend human rights and women and girls’ political empowerment. Michael D. Cooper serves as Executive Director and Executive Vice President of the American Society of International Law. Engaged in human rights, humanitarian affairs, and international law for three decades, Michael has served with Mercy Corps, Médecins du Monde, the International Rescue Committee, the Roosevelt Institute, UNHCR, and Human Rights Watch. Michael studied at the Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO) and has a Master’s in Global Policy and Conflict Resolution from New York University. A licensed attorney, Cooper is a Public Interest Law Scholar at Georgetown University Law Center, from which he received his J.D., along with a Certificate in Refugees and Humanitarian Emergencies. Jon Meacham, co-chair of the Vanderbilt Project on Unity and American Democracy, professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University, and Carolyn T. and Robert M. Rogers Chair in American Presidency, is a renowned presidential historian, contributing writer to The New York Times Book Review, contributing editor at TIME, and Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Meacham’s latest book, His Truth Is Marching On: John Lewis and the Power of Hope, published in August 2020. The Soul of America: The Battle for Our Better Angels, was published by Random House in May 2018. His Destiny and Power: The American Odyssey of George Herbert Walker Bush, published in November 2015, was a #1 New York Times bestseller and is available now in hardcover and paperback from Random House. He is currently at work on a biography of James and Dolley Madison.