A Touching Story...The butler sees a new White House

[DogPoundPup]

Now retired, he started when blacks were in the kitchen.
By Wil Haygood
November 7, 2008

Reporting from Washington -- For more than three decades, Eugene Allen worked in the White House, a black man unknown to the headlines. During some of those years, harsh segregation laws lay upon the land.

He trekked home every night to his wife, Helene, who kept him out of her kitchen.

At the White House, he worked closer to the dirty dishes than to the Oval Office. Helene didn't care; she just beamed with pride.

President Truman called him Gene. President Ford liked to talk golf with him. He saw eight presidential administrations come and go, often working six days a week.

"I never missed a day of work," Allen said.

He was there while racial history was made: Brown vs. Board of Education, the Little Rock school crisis, the 1963 March on Washington, the cities burning, the civil rights bills, the assassinations.

When he started at the White House in 1952, he couldn't even use the public restrooms when he ventured back to his native Virginia. "We had never had anything," Allen, 89, recalled of black America at the time. "I was always hoping things would get better."

In its long history, the White House -- note the name -- has had a complex and vexing relationship with black Americans.

Please continue reading to the end @
http://www.latimes.com/business/careers/work/la-na-butler7-2008nov07,0,5858160.story

[nickyt]

1. A friend just sent me this...if you read it all the way to the end, well -

hope you ain't out of Kleenex just yet...

[pink-o]

2. Oh, yeah, we need a new tear-jerker warning emoticon for stories like this!!!

My mother died in Jan 2007, but was totally impressed with Obama during his keynote speech for Kerry's Dem convention. She would have loved to see him become prez.

RIP, Helene. Hope you're drinkin' more champagne and clinking glasses with "Toot"!!

[mnhtnbb]

3. Definitely requires a kleenex warning.

[cobalt1999]

5. tough ending.

caught me by surprise. ouch.

[Norrin Radd]

6. Tell me about it!

[understandinglife]

15. Wow. That really hurts ...

[newtothegame]

4. Why are we still getting our rocks off about the race of our new president...

when millions of our fellow GBLT brothers and sisters were downgraded to 2nd class citizens on Tuesday?

[grace0418]

8. So we're not allowed to celebrate any progress until the world is perfect?

I'm sick about the battle we lost on Tuesday, but I'm thankful for the battle we won. I choose to celebrate that and use that positive energy to fuel me for the battles ahead.

[Turn CO Blue]

10. Cold-hearted

response to the ending (the death of Helene) in this article.

And your response is off topic, but if you want to discuss that, then please stop with the quitter language because your post sounds like what QUITTING sounds like. We have only begun to fight and we are not conceding Prop 8.

[newtothegame]

13. Thank you, I agree...off to the march!

[Turn CO Blue]

14. Cheers new to the game. We're not quitting!

[cobalt1999]

11. So, it's supposed to be a GBLT Marriage board 24/7 until the next election?

No one likes the outcome of the FL/CA amendments, but, jeez, we are allowed discuss other things here too.

[newtothegame]

20. Fair enough, and I apologize for being so harsh...

I'm just frustrated that so many SEEM to care more that president looks different this time that a great # of DU'ers were downgraded to sub-human status on Tuesday. It frustrates when I see so many posts with pictures of people crying over our President's race, when my friends are crying because they can't love who they want.

[Marrah_G]

23. Because it is a HUGE deal- The CA vote doesn't take that away

This was a historical moment in our often very bloody history. AA history is unlike any other group's history. The house Obama is moving into was built by men and women who had no more rights then a farm animal. Bought and sold like cattle.

Yes the CA vedict sucked, it is WRONG, it is Bigotry. But that does not make Obama's election any less historic. Itt just makes more then half of CA's voters WRONG WRONG WRONG.

[MadMaddie]

25. As with everything, this too shall pass

Gay Americans will get their Constitutional guaranteed rights.

But don't you dare denigrate the struggle that black Americans have gone through in this country.

You act as if racism doesn't exist anymore, we did elect a qualified President Elect who happens to be black - Did you hear about the black church in MA being burned down?

Grow up! The organizations that were trying to defeat this piece of shit legislation failed to do something critical. And it points to a racism in the gay communittee, they failed to go to the minority neighborhoods, the churches to refute the outright lies that the otherside was putting out. The Gay communite and supporters need to get over their own racism if they want this over turned.

The article is a historical footnote of a man and his wife who have lived through the changes in America....maybe you should read the article.

[cobalt1999]

7. Nice of the Reagans to invite them as their guest to the state dinner.

I wouldn't of thought it of them.

[grace0418]

9. Beautiful!

But such a bittersweet ending.

[StarryNite]

12. Bittersweet :(

:cry:

[csziggy]

16. Beautiful story - Obama should invite him to the inauguration!

[progressoid]

17. Wow

[dynasaw]

18. Invitation to the Inauguration?

I hope the president elect invites him to the inauguration. It would have been lovely if his wife had lived long enough . . . but like Toot's passing this is one the bitter sweet ironies. :cry:

[Jeanette in FL]

19. Oh, my

What a beautiful sad story.

[2Design]

21. kick

[QueenOfCalifornia]

22. What a story

It made me get goosebumps. :)

[MadMaddie]

24. How heartbreaking!

Kleenex are out!

[Sabien]

26. wow...

...that one got to me

:cry: