Eleven-year-old piano prodigy and composer Thomas Greene Wiggins Bethune (1849-1908) is believed to have been the first African American artist to perform at the White House when he played for President James Buchanan in 1860. By that time "Blind Tom"—as the unsighted enslaved child was billed professionally by his white master-manager Colonel James Bethune—had toured the United States and was

Few people know the story of a brave woman named Charlotte Dupuy who was enslaved in Decatur House, the large brick residence that has stood on Lafayette Square at the corner of H Street and Jackson Place since 1818. In 1829, while living at Decatur House, Dupuy sued her owner, Secretary of State Henry Clay, for her freedom. Charlotte Dupuy, or "Lotty"

Lafayette Square in the 19th century was the epicenter of political, social and civic activity in Washington, D.C. Originally the area was known as the President's Square and just a block from the northeast corner of this common stood an establishment known as Wormley's Hotel, probably the most successful private enterprise of its time in that area. From the

The New Years’ Day reception became a White House tradition with President John Adams in 1801 and ended with President Herbert Hoover in 1932. A gala social occasion that attracted the interest of dignitaries, journalists and the general public, it eventually generated crowds of several thousand people who crashed the White House gates for a glimpse of the president or, best of al

Paul Jennings was born in 1799 at Montpelier, the Virginia estate of James and Dolley Madison. His mother, an enslaved woman of African and Native American descent, told him that his father was the local English trader Benjamin Jennings. While Paul had no documented relationship with Benjamin and probably never met him, he did adopt the ‘Jennings’ surname as his own. As a

Eugene Allen served in the White House for 34 years. Assisting eight presidents, Allen’s top priority was to make the White House a comfortable residence for each chief executive and his family. Allen was born in 1919 on a plantation farm near Scottsville in central Virginia.1 During his youth, he worked as a waiter at a resort in Virginia and at a

Elias Polk was born into slavery in 1806 on a farm owned by Samuel Polk, father of the future president of the United States, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. Later that year, Elias moved with the Polk family west to Tennessee, where they settled on land near Spring Hill (about 40 miles south of Nashville).1 In 1824, newlyweds James and Sarah Polk were

Jacob Lawrence, one of the twentieth century’s most celebrated Black artists, is remembered for his vivid portrayals of the Black experience in America. Lawrence was born in New Jersey on September 7, 1917, and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and Harlem, New York. While taking art classes at Harlem’s Utopia Children’s Center and Harlem Art Workshop, Lawrence trained under prominent leader

“Country music is part of the soul and conscience of our democracy. It unfolds the inherent goodness of our people and our way of life. It captures our indomitable spirit and pulsates with the sorrows, joys, and unfailing perseverance of ordinary men and women who sustain our national vitality and strength.”1 – Jimmy Carter at the Country Music Association Concert at the Wh

The White House Historical Association has undertaken a research initiative called "Slavery in the President's Neighborhood." With this initiative, the Association seeks to tell the stories of the enslaved and free African Americans who built, lived, and worked at the White House, as well as the surrounding homes on Lafayette Park. While there are few written accounts of their experiences,