FLARE Announcements

In Sickness and in the White House: First Ladies Illness from the 1840s to the 1980s

Please join FLARE at its March Virtual Program, March 28, 2024 7:30 pm EDT

Description: While less noticed than the presidents’ health, first ladies’ health--mental and physical--has been closely related to their husbands’ abilities to do their jobs. Both their well-being and their interests in health issues have served as an area of their advocacy for them and the nation. Whether it was Betty Ford and breast cancer or addiction, Rosalynn Carter and mental health, or Michelle Obama and children’s obesity, first ladies have raised awareness for others. But at times, these women have also been terribly ill themselves; three died in office and Florence Harding nearly did. Betty Ford and Nancy Reagan faced breast cancer diagnoses and treatment. Focusing on those women who experienced serious illness, this panel explores first ladies' struggles with health, and health advocacy.Read More >

FLARE Presents FLOTUS, the Media and Challenging Old Narratives

In case you missed it, the January 31, 2024 program with Jennifer Taylor and Erin Donaghue is now available at the links below.

Description: America’s first ladies and their relationship with the media date back to Martha Washington. Even now, the challenges historic first ladies have faced with the press are similar to the challenges modern first ladies face today. As the position of the president’s spouse has evolved, so has the media. Join the First Ladies Association for Research and Education for a lively conversation with East Wing Magazine journalists Jennifer Taylor and Erin Donaghue about the challenges between first ladies and the media; about the changing landscape of the media and how presidential spouses have adapted; and about East Wing Magazine and its mission to flip the traditional narratives told about first ladies and the greater East Wing.

What: Discussion moderated by Diana Carlin
When: 5:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 31, 2024Read More >

Happy New Year From FLARE

As new president of FLARE I wish all FLARE members a Happy New Year and welcome you to an exciting new year with FLARE. We have plans for more robust virtual programs and social hours - please check our website and watch for our emails for details - along with some new benefits for members. We are going to work on expanding the reach of FLARE's important mission to promote and publicize research and education about the contributions, lives, impact and lasting legacies of U.S. first ladies.

I look forward to working with you to make 2024 a very successful year for FLARE.

Nancy Kegan Smith President, FLARE

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FLARE Program ... Edith Wilson: Overnight Sensation

Now vailable for viewing on Flare's Facebook Page and YouTube Page. The link(s) are at the end of the announcement.

FLARE Program December 11, 2023

7 pm EST

Rebecca Roberts with Heath Lee

"Roberts isn’t interested in venerating Wilson as a saint; nor is she looking to magnify the First Lady’s flaws. Rather, she lets Edith be Edith, which is to say messy and complicated, as most humans are."

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FLARE - In Memoriam ... Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter


Eleanor Rosalynn Smith Carter
1927-2023

FLARE shares in the nation's mourning of the passing of former First Lady Rosalynn Carter. We believe that one of the best ways to summarize her many accomplishments is by sharing President Bill Clinton's comments in 1999 when she and President Jimmy Carter were jointly awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom:

"During the Carter years, Rosalynn Carter also brought vision, compassion, tireless energy, and commitment to the causes she advanced. Just as Eleanor Roosevelt will be remembered for her work on human rights, Rosalynn Carter will always be remembered as a pioneer on mental health and a champion of our children.

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FLARE November Program, November 15, 7pm ET

Join FLARE for "A Tour of the National First Ladies Library."  Director of Collections and Research Michelle Gullion from the National First Ladies Library & Museum will take viewers on a special behind-the-scenes tour of some of the more fascinating First Ladies items in the collection. She will discuss the items’ history, provenance, and significance to the legacies of these inspirational women. The program includes a welcome by FLARE president Myra Gutin and will include Q & A.

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FLARE Members Featured in American University Magazine

In the latest issue of American University Magazine, Anita McBride, executive in residence at the Center for Congressional and Presidential Studies in the School of Public Affairs, discusses the first-ever college textbook she wrote along with co-authors Diana Carlin and Nancy Kegan Smith. Called US First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies, the book fills a gap in academic literature, examining how the role of First Lady has evolved since the first First Lady, Martha Washington.

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NEW Episode: The White House 1600 Sessions Podcast ... “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies”

The White House Historical Association released a new episode of The White House 1600 Sessions podcast today featuring a conversation with Anita McBride about a new college textbook she co-authored called “U.S. First Ladies: Making History and Leaving Legacies.” McBride was an assistant to President George W. Bush, Chief of Staff to First Lady Laura Bush, and is the current director of American University’s Legacies of America’s First Ladies Initiative in Washington, D.C. She is also a co-founder of the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE). In the episode, Stewart McLaurin, president of the Association, talks with McBride about how first ladies have influenced American society, public policy, diplomacy, and life in the White House.

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First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) Announces Catherine Allgor as the 2023 Lewis L. Gould Award Recipient

Catherine Allgor, president of the Massachusetts Historical Society, today received the 2023 Lewis L. Gould Award. The annual award, presented by FLARE, recognizes distinguished contributions to the field of first lady research and education and a commitment to excellence while furthering the study of American first ladies.

In responding to this honor, Dr. Allgor said, "This award means so much to me because it comes not just from my colleagues in this field but from FLARE itself which promotes the study of first ladies. It is also meaningful to me because it is named after Lewis L. Gould.”

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FLARE 2023 Gould Award Winner

You are invited to FLARE's special ceremony in honor of this year's 2023 Gould award winner.

The virtual program can be reached by going to Facebook or YouTube on September 18th at 7:00pm eastern time.

In the ceremony you will be the first to find out who is honored with this year's award presented to a member of FLARE who has, in the course of their other noteworthy career, made distinguished contributions to the field of first lady research and education.

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East Wing Magazine and FLARE

East Wing Magazine has joined the First Ladies Association for Research and Education (FLARE) as a Lifetime Inaugural Individual member. The membership signals the publication’s support for FLARE’s mission to create, sustain, promote and publicize research and education relevant to the contributions, lives, impact and lasting legacies of American first ladies.

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FLARE May 31 Program ... Three First Ladies and White House Restoration

In honor of National Historic Preservation month and presented in conjunction with FLARE's newest Lifetime Institutional Member, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, FLARE is presenting a program on Three First Ladies and their Efforts on White House Restoration: Jackie Kennedy, Lady Bird Johnson and Pat Nixon. The program will be on May 31st at 7:00 pm est. The program will include:

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