Chapter 32

Summary

• The chapter is set in 1934 and narrates events at the White House, from Eleanor Roosevelt's point of view.
• Eleanor and her mother-in-law, Sara Delano Roosevelt, have invited Walter White, the leader of the NAACP, to the White House to discuss the national racial issues.
• The meeting was cleverly scheduled to coincide with Franklin D. Roosevelt's return from a boating trip. Eleanor has been trying and failing to get Franklin to meet with Walter White.
• When Franklin returns, he’s angry. Eleanor wonders if the anger stems from the surprise meeting with White or from him being seen in his wheelchair by non-family members.
• Eleanor introduces Walter White to Franklin as the director of the NAACP. To soften his reaction, they discuss the economic hardships faced by black families as opposed to starting off with the anti-lynching bill.
• After some discussion, Eleanor brings up the issue of the anti-lynching bill. Franklin isn’t happy about this but refrains from showing it due to his mother's presence.
• Walter White makes a compelling argument describing the brutal realities of lynching and the need for the federal government to intervene.
• Franklin, however, declines to support the bill. He fears that backing it would result in losing the Southern Democrats' support for the New Deal legislation, and therefore, he cannot risk supporting the bill over the interests of millions of people suffering from other issues.
• Eleanor is upset over her husband's unwillingness to act against lynching, questioning where his integrity has gone.