wanted. She was looked upon very highly by other members of the cabinet, and the younger men called her "Ma Bethune." Bethune was a personal friend of Eleanor Roosevelt and, uniquely among the cabinet, had access to the White House. Their friendship began during a luncheon when Eleanor Roosevelt sat Bethune to the right of the president, considered the seat of honor. Franklin Roosevelt was so impressed by one of Bethune's speeches that he appointed her to the Division of Negro Affairs in the newly created National Youth Administration. Members of this group in 1938 included the following: Alfred Edgar Smith, Works Projects Administration Dr. Ambrose Caliver, Department of the Interior Arthur Weiseger, Department of Labor Charles E. Hall, Department of Commerce Constance E.H. Daniel, Department of Agriculture Dewey R. Jones, Department of the Interior; Edgar G. Brown, Civilian Conservation Corps Edward H. Lawson, Jr., Works Projects Administration Henry A. Hunt, Farm Credit Administration J. Parker Prescott, Housing Authority John W. Whitten, Works Projects Administration Joseph H. Evans, Farm Security Administration Joseph R. Houchins, Department of Commerce Lawrence A. Oxley, Department of Labor Mary McLeod Bethune, National Youth Administration Ralph E. Mizelle, US Postal Service Dr. Robert C. Weaver, Federal Housing Administration Dr. Roscoe C. Brown, Public Health Service William I. Houston, Department of Justice Dr. William J. Thomkins, Recorder of Deeds At various times, others included: Dr. Charles L. Franklin, Social Security Board Eugene Kinckle Jones, Department of Commerce Frank Smith Horne, optometrist, college administrator, and lyricist William J. Trent, Federal Works Agency William H. Hastie, attorney, Department of the Interior See also Civil rights movement (1896–1954) List of African-American United States Cabinet members United States Cabinet References Bibliography , Reprinted from the November 1927 Welfare Magazine Further reading Daniel, Walter. Ambrose Caliver: Adult Educator and Civil Servant, Syracuse, NY: Syracuse Univ Printing, 1966 Wilkins, Theresa B., "Ambrose Caliver: Distinguished Civil Servant", Journal of Negro Education, 1962 External links "Mary Jane McLeod Bethune", American National Biography Online African-American history between emancipation and the civil rights movement African-American organizations New Deal Political terminology of the United States