Black Women for Obama for Change: Book Corner: “The Story of Mary and Eleanor: Rivers to Cross”

The book, “The Story of Mary and Eleanor: Rivers to Cross”, focuses on the life, accomplishments, friendship and relationship of the great historic, African American Educator and Women’s Right’s Advocate, Mary McLeod Bethune and the Human and Women’s Rights Advocate, First Lady, Eleanor Roosevelt. These two very different women nurtured a relationship built upon their interdependency. Each needed to help the other for each of their missions in life to be realized. It was through Mary’s relationship with Eleanor that both saw their differences but also embraced their similarities. Their relationship promoted racial equality, human rights, and women's rights.

As Eleanor Roosevelt traveled the nation as the 32nd First Lady she became aware of the role of education in building a person's self—esteem and leadership qualities. It was this awareness that connected Eleanor Roosevelt and Mary McLeod Bethune in a symbiotic relationship. Both women were determined to insure the Negro had educational opportunities and knew this was in the best interest of the country. Lastly, both knew that working together they could make a difference in the present that would have great and lasting effects in the future. The inter—relationship, interdependency, and interconnectedness of Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt meant the uplift of women, justice for the nation, and a source of healing for the Negro and White racial groups dubious past. Each of these women, Mary McLeod Bethune and Eleanor Roosevelt, were special women and each had "Rivers to Cross" in their lives to bring them to the point of prominence, importance to all women, and making pivotal changes to the country that they loved and also sought its best for all its people. Each woman had a story to tell, a journey to travel, and a river to cross.

About Dr. Esther M. Pearson — Dr. Esther M. Pearson has been featured in Ebony Magazine, Black Enterprise, Black Issues in Higher Education and the Nero Journal of Education. She has published several books to include ‘Invisible Mathematics’, ‘Women in High Tech Vision of Change’, and ‘Building Self-Esteem In Young Women’. She is the founder of the Mary McLeod Bethune Institute for Young Women, and a biographer of Mary McLeod Bethune.