“I have always loved Eleanor Roosevelt. She should’ve been president and pretty much was acting president while her husband was ill. The photo I found of her was black and white. I used watercolors to paint her. I don’t know what color her eyes were or if she wore rose colored lipstick, but I made her eyes hazel and painted her sweater emerald green because I imagined it to be both of our favorite colors.

Eleanor was from New York, born on October 11, 1884 and died on November 7, 1962. She was a champion of civil rights for African Americans, women, American workers, and prisoners in the U.S. She supported government funding for artists and writers, encouraged appointing women to federal positions, broadcasting, reporting, and in press conferences. She wrote “MY DAY,” a syndicated newspaper for social and political issues. She advocated to support troops and boost morale. She championed women’s employment in the defense industry and was an advocate for anti segregation. In 1984 her most famous speech, “The Struggle for Human Rights,” prompted the United Nations to adopt the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a model for how people and nations should treat each other. She wrote over 27 books and over 8,000 newspaper columns. In my mind she is the best president ever and exactly what America so desperately needs now. Rest in peace.”