First Ladies rss

Eleanor Roosevelt’s Mysteriously Missing Grandfather & was she part-Italian?

Despite her being born forty-five years before Jacqueline Kennedy, there is a similar pattern in the story of Eleanor Roosevelt‘s Irish immigrant heritage.  It illustrates less the shame of humble origin than how the power of incredible wealth can lead people… Read More ›

Keep Grandma Upstairs: Jackie Kennedy’s Family Secrets & The Lie Her Mother Told

This article is part of an ongoing series about the racial, religious and ethnic identity of First Ladies, beginning with the recent discoveries about First Lady Michelle Obama and her ancestry from both an Irish immigrant family of Georgia slave-owners… Read More ›

The Truth Behind the Cherry Blossoms: A First Lady’s Vision of Racial and Class Integration

On one aspect of the Washington Establishment, there is universal agreement. Everyone loves the cherry blossoms. Annually, the trees burst in various shades of pink around the Tidal Basin at West Potomac Park. Day-tripping Pennsylvania senior citizens, members of local… Read More ›