Porter Square Books and Temple Israel Present: Rebecca Brenner Graham, author of Dear Miss Perkins, in conversation with James Roosevelt

Porter Square Books and Temple Israel are excited to host author Rebecca Brenner Graham for the release of her book, Dear Miss Perkins. James Roosevelt will join Graham in conversation. This event will take place on Thursday, March 20 at 7:00 p.m. at Temple Israel (477 Longwood Ave, Boston, MA 02215).

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This event is co-presented by Temple Israel and Porter Square Books.

ABOUT DEAR MISS PERKINS

A fascinating portrait of the progressive female trailblazer and US Secretary for Labor who navigated the foreboding rise of Nazism in her battle to make America a safer place for refugees.

She 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.

Perkins’s early experiences working in Chicago’s famed Hull House and as a firsthand witness to the horrific Triangle Shirtwaist fire shaped her determination to advocate for immigrants and refugees. As Secretary of Labor, she wrestled widespread antisemitism and isolationism, finding creative ways to work around quotas and restrictive immigration laws. Diligent, resilient, empathetic, yet steadfast, she persisted on behalf of the desperate when others refused to act.

Based on extensive research, including thousands of letters housed in the National Archives, Dear Miss Perkins adds new dimension to an already extraordinary life story, revealing at last how one woman tried to steer the nation to a better, more righteous course.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Rebecca Brenner Graham is author of Dear Miss Perkins: A Story of Frances Perkins’s Efforts to Aid Refugees from Nazi Germany (Kensington, 2025). Rebecca is a postdoctoral research associate at Brown University. Previously, she taught at the Madeira School and American University. She has a PhD in history and MA in public history from American University and a BA in history and philosophy from Mount Holyoke College. In 2023, she was awarded a Cokie Roberts Fellowship from the National Archives Foundation and a Rubenstein Center Research Fellowship from the White House Historical Association. Her writing has been published in The Washington Post, Time, Slate, Ms., the Los Angeles Review of Books, and elsewhere.

James Roosevelt advises health care payers, providers, trade associations, and service providers on business matters, legislative and regulatory issues, governance, and personnel matters. He regularly represents medical device and medical process startups, including with respect to telehealth, artificial intelligence, and treatment utilizing legal psychedelics. He is also a national speaker and author on the Affordable Care Act, Medicare and Medicaid policy, and Social Security.