[3] Dudley became involved in the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and in 1969, she and Tom protested the incarceration of two black Marines who spoke out against the Vietnam War.

William Harvey and George Daniels were sentenced to six and 10 years of hard labor, respectively, for telling other black servicemen they should not engage in a “white man’s war” when they weren't being treated as equals in their own country.

The Dudleys sailed back and forth in front of the Portsmouth Naval Prison with a sign that read "Free Harvey and Daniels" until the soldiers were finally released.

[5] About halfway through her first term, an unexpected and environmentally significant change was proposed that would have altered Dudley's hometown and the entire seacoast of New Hampshire: the construction of an oil refinery, which would have been one of the largest in the world.

[6] In 1974, Greek shipping magnate Aristotle Onassis announced plans to build a 400,000-barrel-a-day oil refinery on Great Bay in Durham.

[8] It was a vicious battle, but Dudley eventually proposed legislation that convinced a special session of the state legislature to approve Home Rule Bill HB 18, giving Durham residents the right to veto the oil refinery.

[8] This legislation prevented 3,500 acres (1,400 ha) along the shore of Great Bay from becoming a six-hundred-million dollar refinery and earned Dudley a national reputation as an environmental activist.

Each year, the Eleanor Roosevelt Award is presented to a Granite State Democrat who has shown extraordinary commitment to the values of social and economic justice.