Our Mission
The mission of the FDR Memorial Legacy Committee is to promote education about the FDR Memorial, improve inclusion and accessibility so all visitors can experience the Memorial, and preserve the Memorial for future generations.
Learn More
FDR's Story
He contracted polio at age 39 which left him unable to walk or stand unassisted. He was a daily wheelchair user. He started the March of Dimes to fund a cure for polio.
History of the FDR Memorial
History of the FDR Memorial
From the despair of the Great Depression to the international crisis of World War II, President Franklin D. Roosevelt led the U.S. through the darkest periods of the 20th century.
View Interactive TimelineEvents & Announcements
FDR: Great Abilities Screening
NEWSNow Showing: FDR: Great Abilities. The 20-minute educational documentary short highlights how Americans with disabilities changed a presidential memorial to show the world what real leadership looks like.
Read More
FDR Memorial Legacy Committee Wins Award in Best Shorts Film Competition
NEWSThe FDR Committee has won a prestigious Best of Short designation from The Best Shorts Film Competition. The award was given for FDR’s compelling series, “FDR: Great Abilities,” that sheds light on how Americans with disabilities successfully advocated for the inclusion of a wheelchair statue at the FDR Memorial in Washington, DC, demonstrating to the world what true leadership looks like.
Read More
The FDR Committee's "Why"
NEWSIn 2019, after learning of the passing of my former boss, mentor, and friend, Mike Deland, the pang of unfinished business hit me – hard. Mike and I had always talked about formally chronicling and writing “our story” of the fight for the FDR wheelchair statue. Sure, we both had boxes of articles and other materials from that campaign, but that was it. I reached out to Jane Deland - Mike’s widow; Jim Dickson, who led the grassroots campaign for the wheelchair statue; and Davis Buckley, who consulted with Mike about the statue back in the 1990s, and we all agreed we had to do something to record our history, or it would fade away.
Read More
Find Us on Social Media
Join our social media network by engaging with us on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and Twitter, and by watching our videos on Youtube.
The FDR Memorial Legacy Committee is the citizen led organization with the mission to promote education about the FDR Memorial, to improve inclusion and accessibility so all visitors can experience the Memorial and to preserve the Memorial for future generations.
Learn MorePhoto Gallery
Support Us Today!
The FDR Memorial Legacy Committee is a citizen led organization with the mission to promote education about the FDR Memorial, improve inclusion and accessibility so all visitors can experience the Memorial, and preserve the Memorial for future generations. The organization, borne out of the successful disability led campaign in the 1990s for disability representation at the Memorial, is committed to sharing the diverse perspectives of the Roosevelt era and that era's legacy today.