From the Kitchen to the Oval Office

Yesterday's Washington Post has an article about Eugene Allen, an 89-year-old black man who served in the White House for over thirty years, from 1952-1986. He started out washing dishes and shining silverware at $2,400 a year and was promoted over the years to butler and, in 1980, to maitre d'. The reporter interviewed Allen and his wife, Helene, for their observations on the presidential inhabitants of the White House. The article also briefly describes the attitudes toward African-Americans in the White House, including a story of President John Kennedy's distress when Sammy Davis, Jr., who, invited with 800 other blacks to attend a commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation, showed up with his white wife, May Britt:

Louis Martin, a Democratic operative who helped plan the function, had placed the names of entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. and his wife, May Britt, on the guest list. The White House scratched it off and Martin would put it back on. According to Martin, Kennedy was aghast when he saw the black and white couple stroll into the White House. His face reddened and he instructed photographers that no pictures of the interracial couple would be taken.

This past week, Eugene Allen cast his vote for Barack Obama, the first black president of the United States.

For the full story, go to: Wil Haygood's "A Butler Well Served by this Election," Washington Post, Friday, November 7, 2008; Page A01. (Hat tip to Scientific's Blog at Talking Points Memo Cafe)

How far we've come in my lifetime: from blacks washing dishes in the kitchen of the White House to a black man in the Oval Office. But we still have quite a ways to go to achieve true equality in this country. The overt reactions of some white people to this election remind us of the racism that remains; our more subtly-expressed attitudes in conversation and everyday choices remind us that we fall short of social equality.