Presidential Speaker Series

Anita McBride is coming to the Indiana Roof Ballroom on Thursday, November 12, for a dinner and conversation about the legacies of America's First Ladies. She's a co-author of Remember the First Ladies: The Legacies of America's History-Making Women, and the evening is built around that book.

The night is part of the Presidential Speaker Series, the annual fundraiser for the Benjamin Harrison Presidential Site. The Site is the home and museum of Benjamin Harrison, the 23rd U.S. president and the only one elected from Indiana. He and Caroline Harrison built the house in 1874-1875; he lived there until his death in 1901, and his family stayed until 1913. His second wife, Mary Lord Harrison, later turned it into a rental property until 1937, when she sold it to the Jordan Conservatory of Music on the understanding that the home and its artifacts would be preserved. A not-for-profit foundation was established in 1966 to run it as a historic site, and after a 1974 renovation the entire home opened for regular daily tours.

There's a particular connection to the night's subject here: Caroline Harrison was an advocate for women's access to medical education, supporting efforts to open doors at Johns Hopkins Medical School. The proceeds from the series go toward the Site's civic education and outreach programs, which reach more than 30,000 children and adults each year.

It's a dinner and conversation, so you'll be eating and listening rather than just sitting through a lecture. The event runs from 6:00 to 9:00 PM on Thursday, November 12, at the Indiana Roof Ballroom in Indianapolis.