First lady Michelle Obama once stated, "I wake up every morning in a house that was built by slaves.” It was one of the first times the hidden Black history of the White House was acknowledged so publicly. This was especially significant coming from her as it’s often Black women most erased from White House history.
While the White House was being constructed by enslaved labor, President Washington lived in Philadelphia with his family and those he enslaved, including Oney Judge. After hearing she was being sold, Judge permanently walked out of the president’s temporary quarters, evading Washington’s attempts to recapture her.
Daughter of a White House maid, Lillian Parks worked as a maid and seamstress during the Hoover, Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower administrations. She was eventually made chief maid, developing many of the current White House staff traditions and expectations.
Mary McLeod Bethune became the highest ranking Black woman in government as the director of Negro Affairs of the National Youth Administration. She established the Federal Council of Negro Affairs, also known as President Roosevelt’s “Black Cabinet.” The cabinet created over 300,000 “Black” jobs during the Great Depression.
Black women are essential to White House history. While we have yet to see a Black woman command the Oval Office, it is only a matter of time.