Faculty Author: Rebecca Brenner Graham

Dr. Rebecca Brenner Graham, a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University, discusses her new book Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins’s Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany (Penguin Random House, publication date: 1/21/2025) at the Brown Bookstore on Wednesday, February 5th at 5:00pm. She will be joined in conversation by History Professor Seth Rockman. DEAR MISS PERKINS reveals the remarkable feats of a woman who channeled individual responsibility toward widespread structural change, and whose innovative policies and solutions shaped real people’s daily lives. This deeply researched biography illustrates how Perkins repeatedly pushed limits and tested boundaries for the greater good. Perkins was the first woman to serve in a presidential cabinet, the longest-serving labor secretary, and an architect of the New Deal. Yet beyond these celebrated accomplishments, there is another dimension to Frances Perkins’s story. Without fanfare, and despite powerful opposition, Perkins helped save the lives of countless Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany.