While both Eleanor Roosevelt and Franklin D. Roosevelt are beloved figures in Greenbelt, Eleanor is especially respected. When the experimental housing project was still under construction and running out of money, certain elements were in danger of being cut. Eleanor stepped in to make sure that the community was built according to the original plan. See our wayside panel below for more information on that. She visited Greenbelt several times and wrote about these visits in her My Day column. Following FDR's death in 1945, she became a delegate to the United Nations where she chaired the United Nations Human Rights Commission. It was during that time that she helped to write the 1948 United Nations Declaration of Human Rights (this is a great illustrated version for kids!). Greenbelt was just one of the many, many projects she was involved in as she fought for equality, championed human rights, and transformed the role of First Lady of the United States, but her legacy lives on here. Did you know that Eleanor Roosevelt High School was initially going to be named for FDR until Greenbelt citizens convinced the school board to name it after her instead? Read more about Eleanor here and watch a short film about her life here. Print out and try our word find, below. For kids resources, visit our kid's page.
