Meet the author of 'The Firebrand and the First Lady' at book signing

Patricia Bell-Scott

"The Firebrand and the First Lady" by Patricia Bell-Scott

Patricia Bell-Scott will be in Chattanooga on Saturday, March 26, to sign copies of her new book, which has become one of the most talked about releases of the season.

"Patricia Bell-Scott has reframed the history of social justice," proclaims the headline on a Signature review for "The Firebrand and the First Lady."

A New York Times Sunday book review lauds it as "a tremendous book 20 years in the making."

Publishers Weekly deems it one of the Top 10 spring releases in history.

Subtitled "Portrait of a Friendship: Pauli Murray, Eleanor Roosevelt and the Struggle for Social Justice," the book details how a brilliant writer-turned activist, a granddaughter of a mulatto slave, and the first lady of the United States forged an enduring friendship that changed each of their lives and helped to alter the course of race and racism in America.

Bell-Scott, professor emerita of women's studies and human development and family science at the University of Georgia, tells their story through letters, journals, diaries, published and unpublished manuscripts and interviews.

Roosevelt and Murray first met in 1934 when Murray was living at Camp Tera, a New Deal facility for unemployed women. Eventually, the professional relationship between these two smart, strong-minded and ambitious women developed into genuine affection, Bell-Scott says.

Saturday's book signing is presented by the Big 9 Book Club, Chattabelle, Jazzanooga and the Chattanooga Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority. Admission is free, but a ticket is required due to limited space at the venue, the Jazzanooga Arts Space.