The Frances Perkins Center will celebrate the life and work of Frances Perkins with a virtual Inaugural Homestead Day on Sunday, Sept. 18, at 5 p.m. 

The Center’s inaugural Homestead Day event will honor the inspiring role of the Perkins Family ancestral Homestead, a National Historic Landmark located in Newcastle, in Frances Perkins’ work for social justice and economic security.

Featured in this inaugural event will be three nationally renowned individuals who are building on the legacy of Frances Perkins by creating new foundations for the well-being of all Americans today: justice advocate Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, who will receive the Center’s Steadfast Award; historic preservationist Monica Rhodes, who will receive the Open Door Award; and former U.S. head archivist David Ferriero, who will receive the Intelligence and Courage Award.

In presenting its Steadfast Award to Rev. Dr. William J. Barber II, the Frances Perkins Center honors his prophetic witness and spiritual leadership to inspire our nation to come together in community to swing the arc of history toward justice, as Frances Perkins held steadfast to her principles in creating governmental policies for the betterment of all peoples.

The Open Door Award recognizes Monica Rhodes, who, like Frances Perkins, responds to opportunities to advance social justice and economic equity for the betterment of society through her work leading efforts to expand the preservation field to younger, more diverse audiences and veterans, and by engaging volunteers in large-scale community projects to preserve and enhance national parks and historic places.

The immediate former head and chief administrator of the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Frances Perkins Center acknowledges David Ferriero’s dedication to public service with its Intelligence and Courage award, in that he, who like Frances Perkins, presents a model of truthfulness and integrity.

Event sponsorships available at all gift levels will help ensure Frances Perkins’ story is known, her work is acknowledged, and her vision of a more just society continues to be pursued and will support the preservation of the Frances Perkins Homestead National Historic Landmark, transforming it into a public visitor site and education center to open in 2023.

To learn more and to register for this free event, visit https://francesperkinscenter.org/homestead-day.

About Frances Perkins

Frances Perkins (1880–1965), the first woman to serve in a U.S. presidential cabinet, was Secretary of Labor (1933–1945) for the entire tenure of Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Perkins was the driving force behind many of the groundbreaking New Deal programs that are still the foundation of the American social safety net—Social Security, unemployment insurance, the 40-hour work week, and the minimum wage. Born in Boston, educated in the public schools of Worcester, and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Massachusetts, she spent summers throughout her life at her ancestral family homestead in Newcastle, Maine, now a National Historic Landmark owned by the nonprofit, nonpartisan Frances Perkins Center.

About the Frances Perkins Center

The Frances Perkins Center is dedicated to honoring and preserving the legacy of the woman behind the New Deal by continuing Frances Perkins’ work for social justice and economic security and by preserving for future generations her nationally significant family homestead in Newcastle, Maine. The Homestead is currently undergoing a major restoration project and will open to the public in 2023.

To learn more about the Frances Perkins Center, call (207) 563-3374, email info@francesperkinscenter.org, or visit www.FrancesPerkinsCenter.org.