November, 2025 Rediscovering Anna Rosenberg's Buffalo Legacy

In the early 1940s, Anna Rosenberg was tasked by President Roosevelt to boost wartime preparedness in New York State. She launched a groundbreaking pilot project known as The Buffalo Plan. It was a bold effort to open the doors of the defense industry to Black and women workers during WWII. It was one of Anna's many behind-the-scenes contributions to the war effort and to American history that have too often been forgotten.

We made a whirlwind research trip to Buffalo, NY to learn more about how the Buffalo Plan unfolded on the ground. We were given great guidance by local historian Mark Goldman and Lou Jean Fleron, former director of Cornell University ILR Buffalo Co-Lab. We focused on plants like Bell Aircraft, Curtiss-Wright, and Bethlehem Steel, key players in the wartime economy. Our goal was to find archival images that would show this powerful story of wartime labor, race, gender, and opportunity in action.

Photo: The Steel Plant Museum of WNY

Thanks to the generous help of the dedicated archivists at the following institutions, we were not disappointed:

• The Grosvenor Room at the Buffalo & Erie County Public Library

• The Steel Plant Museum

• The Niagara Aerospace Museum

• The Niagara Falls Public Library

• The Buffalo History Museum

We were also honored to be guests at The Confidante book talks by author Christopher C. Gorham, hosted at the Buffalo Country Club and the Garet Club. we are very grateful to Mary Bacon, who graciously facilitated an opportunity for us to say a few words about our documentary-in-development—Lady Dynamo: The Untold Story of Anna Rosenberg. The enthusiastic audiences reflected Buffalo's deep pride in its WWII contributions, and a shared excitement about Anna Rosenberg's long-overdue return to public memory.

Photo: The Steel Plant Museum of WNY

It was inspiring to witness the local interest in Rosenberg's legacy. Her leadership helped shape policies that transformed midcentury America—from desegregation to the G.I. Bill. We're thrilled to feature Buffalo's critical role in our documentary. We can't wait to share more as our project moves forward.

Stay tuned—and if you have any leads on photographs, film, or stories connected to Anna Rosenberg or the Buffalo Plan, we'd love to hear from you!