==Political life==
In 1948, Earl Long asked Miss Dickerson to narrate his [[radio]] campaign speeches. She had first caught Long's attention wile on the debate team at Northwestern State University, where she once helped beat powerhouse [[Harvard University]].<ref name=obit/>
Lieutenant Governor Dodd urged Long to appoint Miss Dickerson to the position of executive director of the Louisiana Department of Commerce and Industry. While holding this position, she was also from 1948 to 1952 the [[Democratic National Committee|Democratic national committeewoman]] from Louisiana and a delegate to the 1948 [[Democratic National Convention]] in [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], which nominated the successful [[Harry Truman|Truman]]-[[Alben W. Barkley|Barkley]] ticket. [[Strom Thurmond]] of [[South Carolina]] won Louisiana's [[electoral vote]]s that year as the nominee of the States Rights' Party, also called the Dixiecrats, but in Louisiana, he was the official Democratic candidate.
Mrs. Parker was chairman of the White House Conference on Children and Youth in 1960. She headed the Board of Public Welfare from 1956 to 1963, a position which brought her into access with destitute people and impacted her political thinking.<ref name=obit/> She was a president of the Louisiana Conference of Social Welfare, a member of the board of directors of the Women's Hospital, and a trustee of Episcopal High School, both in Baton Rouge.
===Helping to elect John McKeithen===
In the 1963-1964 gubernatorial race, Mrs. Parker was a key operative in the campaign to elect John McKeithen, then one of the state's three public service commissioners. McKeithen's campaign was managed by Blanche Long, and Mrs. Parker delivered speeches on the candidate's behalf. One of her high-powered speeches — and Dodd had taught her speech at Oakdale High School — televised across the state was called "All that Glitters Is Not Gold." The title referred to a line from [[Shakespeare]], but it was really an effective attack on the "reform" record of McKeithen's runoff opponent, former [[Mayor]] deLesseps Story "Chep" Morrison Sr. (1912-1964). In her stern, tough, no-nonsense demeanor, Mrs. Parker played the role of "hatchet woman" for the McKeithen forces. A similar newspaper ad entitled, "The Myth of Mr. Morrison," featured one side of the page "Morrison Claims" and opposite that "The Truth Is".<ref>''Minden Herald,'' January 6, 1964, p. 8.</ref>