Blog

• Jun - 11 - 2024
• Mary E Dolan

In 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.

• May - 28 - 2024

Here is the archive of our distributed newsletters.

• Mar - 06 - 2023
• Mary E Dolan

Sadly, Judy Heumann, FDR Committee Advisory Board Member and Disability Rights Legend passed away on Saturday, March 4.  It was a true honor to have Judy as one of our earliest Advisory Board members and to have her endorse and participate in our work. 

• Nov - 28 - 2022
• Mary E. Dolan

HumanitiesDC awarded the FDR Committee a capacity building grant to provide financial support for us to spend time learning and listening to a key DC education organization, DC Arts and Humanities Education Collaborative, on how to use their vast network to expand our reach with local DC educators. Learn more about how we're kicking off this grant in our latest blog.

• Sep - 09 - 2021
• Mary Dolan, Executive Director, FDR Memorial Legacy Committee

I remember the day clearly. My husband had left the news on in the living room of our Washington DC area home that morning. He liked to watch the news as he had breakfast, but I liked it quiet. He would normally turn off the TV by the time I got downstairs, but that day he forgot. I was working from home, and as I went to turn off the TV to preserve the lingering sense of relaxation from sleep, my eye caught a view of the World Trade Center. I paused and put the remote down. Few other buildings would make me pause and stir me awake, but the Twin Towers literally and figuratively always loomed large for me. I grew up outside New York City in Long Island, and the Twin Towers were built when I was a kid. No one could believe one building could be that tall – but two?! And the Towers made the New York skyline – according to my East Harlem-raised mom – the best skyline in the world.  

• Feb - 15 - 2021
• Mary Dolan, Executive Director, FDR Memorial Legacy Committee

We mourn the loss of our friend and colleague, Alec Frazier of Autistic Reality.

• Jan - 07 - 2021
• Mary Dolan, Executive Director, FDR Memorial Legacy Committee

The FDR Memorial Legacy Committee condemns the assault on our democracy last night.  As an organization borne out of protest – the disability community’s fight for representation at the FDR Memorial – what we saw last night at our nation’s Capitol was not a fight for representation.  It was an attack on our institutions.  The stark images will be seared in our collective memory. 

• Jan - 01 - 2021
• Alma Silver, Associate, FDR Memorial Legacy Committee

The FDR Committee had our first intern in the summer of 2020 - Alma Silver. Alma truly is the Silver Lining from the epidemic for us. In a short period of time, Alma has contributed a large body of work in a short period of time. She is a dynamo and we have been lucky to have her with us for the past 6 months. She will be missed! We wish her the very best and we thank her for sharing her gifts and talents with us.

• Oct - 23 - 2020
• Alma Silver, Associate, FDR Memorial Legacy Committee

Mr. Hart, I urge you to think about the purpose that drives your fundraising endeavors, about whether the voices of those you are claiming to help have truly been heard and understood.

• Sep - 21 - 2020
• Mary Dolan, Executive Director, FDR Memorial Legacy Committee

I think about accommodations a lot in my job.  Over the past year, we have launched a website, brought onboard personnel, hosted online meetings among other seemingly mundane organizational tasks and I always put first the requirement for accessibility and maximum inclusion.  I am not congratulating myself because there is still much I need to learn about what full access and inclusion can and should look like but it is a key value of mine and a must-do for all work.  As some know, I have ADHD and with that often comes anxiety and I signed up for that one too.  Occasional mild-moderate depression lurks not far behind as it tends to with those diagnoses and some chronic pain from a traumatic injury but who‘s counting. 

• Sep - 03 - 2020
• Donna Catapano

We remember Franklin D. Roosevelt for who he was to his family, his country and the world. There are many words Americans, and people around the world, would use to describe Franklin: heroic, brave, resilient and charming just to name a few. I remember him for his persistence.

• Sep - 02 - 2020
• Alec Frazier, Host of The Autistic Reality Podcast, Author, Disability Advocate, and Journalist

The Autistic Reality Podcast, hosted by author, disability advocate, and journalist Alec Frazier, focuses on policy and pop culture from the perspective of the Disability community. In this episode, Frazier engages disability rights activist Jim Dickson, an FDR Memorial Legacy Committee Co-founder, for a verbal tour of the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. 

• Aug - 27 - 2020
• Meg O'Connell

Representation Matters. I say it all the time. So, I thought it important to discuss in this month’s blog. 1. First and foremost, we must have authentic representation of people and their lives. We can no longer tolerate stories that depict people by their color, ability, or cultural stereotypes. 2. Second, if you see someone “like you” in a position you aspire to, you begin to believe you can achieve it. You will be less likely to believe the voices that say you don’t belong.

• Aug - 26 - 2020
• Jeffrey Urbin

The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum has a wide variety of educational sessions spanning all different topics about FDR and his life. This session by FDR Library Education Specialist Jeffrey Urbin dives into detail about how FDR's experience with polio shaped the course of his presidency. 

• Jun - 29 - 2020
• FDR Memorial Legacy Committee - a project of NCIL

Our nation is grieving. We are grieving the loss of loved ones, the loss of lifestyles we once knew and the loss of our ability to move freely. These changes have taken a toll on our health and well-being. As the nation looks to reopen and implement new rules, we are all eager to return to some sense of normalcy.