The a witness to history Haygood, Wil 1954- creator text bibliography biography nyu 2013 First 37 Ink/Atria Books hardcover edition. monographic eng

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xii, 96 pages, [32] pages of plates : illustrations (some color) ; 20 cm When acclaimed Washington Post writer Wil Haygood had an early hunch that Obama would win the 2008 election, he thought he'd highlight the singular moment by exploring the life of someone who had come of age when segregation was so widespread, so embedded in the culture, as to make the very thought of a black president inconceivable. He struck gold when he tracked down Eugene Allen, a butler who had served no fewer than eight presidents, from Harry Truman to Ronald Reagan.During his thirty-four years of service, Allen became what the Independent described as a "discreet stagehand who for three decades helped keep the show running in the most important political theatre of all." While serving tea and supervising buffets, Allen was also a witness to history as decisions about America's most momentous events were being made. Here he is at the White House while Kennedy contemplates the Cuban missile crisis: here he is again when Kennedy's widow returns from that fateful day in Dallas. Here he is when Johnson and his cabinet debate Vietnam, and here he is again when Ronald Reagan is finally forced to get tough on apartheid. Perhaps hitting closest to home was the civil rights legislation that was developed, often with passions flaring, right in front of his eyes even as his own community of neighbors, friends, and family were contending with Jim Crow America. With a foreword by the Academy Award-nominated director Lee Daniels, The Butler also includes an essay, in the vein of James Baldwin's jewel The Devil Finds Work, that explores the story of black images on celluloid and in Hollywood, and fifty-seven pictures of Eugene Allen, his family, the presidents he served, and the remarkable cast of the movie. Foreword / Lee Daniels -- The butler's journey -- Moving image -- Five presidents in the struggle. Wil Haygood. "The story that inspired the motion picture"--Dust jacket. Includes an essay on the history of the portrayal of African Americans in motion pictures. Includes bibliographical references (page 79). n-us--- Allen, Eugene 1919-2010 Obama, Barack 1961- Daniels, Lee Louis 1959- Presidents United States Staff Biography Butlers Washington (D.C.) Biography African American household employees Washington (D.C.) Biography African Americans Washington (D.C.) Biography African Americans Segregation History 20th century Race relations in motion pictures African Americans in motion pictures Presidents United States Election 2008 Presidentes Elecciones Estados Unidos 2008 Mayordomos Estados Unidos Afroamericanos en el cine Relaciones raciales en el cine United States Race relations Political aspects Estados Unidos Relaciones raciales 002 E 840.8 H419b 2013 973.92092 9781476752990 1476752990 2014430509 http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1507/2014430509-s.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1507/2014430509-d.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1507/2014430509-b.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1507/2014430509-s.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1507/2014430509-d.html http://www.loc.gov/catdir/enhancements/fy1507/2014430509-b.html OCO 141218 20231031161746.0 18410871 eng