In Washington, D.C., Mary McLeod Bethune lunches with longtime ally Mary Church Terrell at Gray’s Café and notes the half-full room as a sign of the Depression’s reach into Black Broadway. Over Southern fare, they exchange updates on club work and Bethune’s school fundraising.

The conversation turns to politics. Terrell worries Herbert Hoover will lose, while Bethune acknowledges voters blame him for economic suffering. They weigh strategy against voter anger and recall how Hoover alienated many Black citizens with the John Parker Supreme Court nomination, even as Terrell argues Democrats could be worse.

They discuss the Democratic campaign’s courtship of Black voters, including Robert Vann’s embrace of Roosevelt and his call to turn Lincoln’s picture to the wall. Bethune then discloses that Eleanor Roosevelt approached her to join the campaign, assuming her cooperation without consultation.

Terrell is astonished, and Bethune recounts prior cordial meetings—including tea at the Mayflower—before describing the presumption she felt in Eleanor Roosevelt’s ask. They critique the recurring “white savior” posture while Bethune affirms that Eleanor remains a friend who misstepped.

Bethune commits to continue supporting Hoover despite headwinds. Terrell urges her to insist that white allies stand beside, not in front of, Black leaders. The lunch ends with a shared resolve that any partnership with the Roosevelts must be grounded in equal leadership.