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Last update : 16/6/15

‘Black Man in the White House’ is the title of a book published in 1963 by E Frederic Morrow, the first black man to serve as a presidential aide. He worked for President Dwight Eisenhower as Administrative Officer for Special Projects from 1955 to 1961.

Up until his appointment in the mid-50s, black White House employees appeared either with pristine white towels draped over their arms, or cleaning mops in their hands. Morrow, a successful PR man, had arrived ostensibly to help shape policy, not that his boss, President Dwight D Eisenhower, much valued his counsel. The former general wanted to attract black support in key northern battleground states – after all, the Republicans were the party of Abraham Lincoln – and Morrow was recruited for mainly ornamental purposes.

Morrow’s delight at achieving this striking “racial first” was matched only by the distaste of his new workmates. Viewed with suspicion, white secretaries refused to work with him; and he was prohibited from being alone in the same room with any female employee, lest he sexually molest them.

America has moved on from the very worst of WASP bigotry, and in January 2009, Barack Obama would become the 44th President of the United States, and the first African American to hold the the nation’s highest office.