 Author Zora Neale Hurston criticized Eleanor Roosevelt's public silence about the similar decision by the District of Columbia Board of Education, while the District was under the control of committees of a Democratic Congress, to first deny, and then place race-based restrictions on, a proposed concert by Anderson.As the controversy swelled, the American press overwhelmingly backed Anderson’s right to sing.The Philadelphia Tribune wrote, “A group of tottering old ladies, who don't know the difference between patriotism and putridism, have compelled the gracious First Lady to apologize for their national rudeness.” Even some Southern newspapers supported Anderson.