Our Mission
The mission of FLARE is to create and sustain a network to promote and publicize research and education relevant to the contributions, lives, impacts, and lasting legacies of U.S. First Ladies.
Our Vision
FLARE will be the primary association to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration and outreach among scholars, institutions, First Ladies’ staff, biographers, archivists, journalists, and public historians interested in research and education about the lasting legacy of U.S. First Ladies.
FLARE Focus more information
FLARE Focus on Texas First Ladies and the Environmental Movement
Rachel Boba
Lady Bird Johnson among sunflowers. Photo by John D. Smithers.
Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center, University of Texas, Austin, Texas.
Today, climate change is one of America’s most significant and politically contested issues, but first ladies across the political aisle have been championing conservation practices for decades. Texas-born Lady Bird Johnson was the first first lady to advocate for stronger conservation and beautification practices within urban spaces, both during her husband's tenure and after he left office. Her work inspired another Texan, Laura Bush, to push for the conservation of America’s waters and greater environmental education. While both first ladies were inspired by the natural spaces in which they grew up, they drew on their love of nature to encourage the conservation of the American landscapes they treasured. Both actively supported the National Park Foundation and used hikes in national parks as ways to stimulate public interest in park protection.
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