FW2 Aretha Franklin and the Presidential Inauguration

Post #12 – Rosie’s Daughters: The “First Woman To” Generation Tells Its Story by Matilda Butler and Kendra Bonnett

The past several days have put a spotlight on a number of “First Woman To” (FW2) generation women. Here are three that I happened to see:

1. Sunday’s Meet the Press had historian FW2 Doris Kearns Goodwin on the panel discussing parallels between Barack Obama and Abraham Lincoln. Doris Kearns Goodwin has written books on several presidents and drew on her experiences when researching and writing about Lincoln. She said:
“I think to become concerned with history–maybe it’s because I love history so much–it makes you bigger, it enlarges you. I felt every day, living with Lincoln, as I woke up with him in the morning, went to bed with him at night–metaphorically, anyway–that I was becoming a better person. I mean, weird as that sounds, everybody who’s studied Lincoln feels that way. That’s why there’s 14,000 books. Ida Tarbell once said there’s no one more companionable than Lincoln. Let him be companionable for Obama, we’ll be in great shape.”

2. Then on Monday’s NewsHour, I watched FW2 Charlayne Hunter-Gault, the first African-American woman to attend the University of Georgia, discuss the global implication of Obama’s presidency. Hunter-Gault currently lives in South Africa and is a special correspondent for NPR.

3. And finally, this morning I listened to Aretha Franklin, another FW2, belt out My Country Tis of Thee. If you missed her performance, you can see it here on YouTube.

You can expect to continue to see our generation of women.