The portrait on the left is of Frances Perkins, who 76 years ago today was nominated to be the first woman in the U.S. Cabinet--FDR nominated her to be Secretary of Labor, and she was confirmed. Here's what we owe to her leadership: "the first minimum wage, massive programs to put people back to work and enhance our infrastructure, standardized hours for workers, and the expanded right to organize a union." And something called Social Security. Frances Perkins was a mainstay of the FDR government for 12 years, long enough to become a legend in her own time, as evidenced by the panel above right--it's a detail of a mural by Edward Millman of Outstanding American Women, painted as part of the Public Arts Work Project of the 1930s--this is called the Frances Perkins panel, and can still be seen at Flowers Vocational High School in Chicago. There are many murals like this in public buildings all over the country, a lasting legacy to this FDR program--and to Frances Perkins. Her example is one to remember, especially right now.
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