From slavery to the White House, the Ficklin family served presidents for nearly 8 decades

"Woodson Ficklin worked a remarkable 44 years on the White House residence staff. His son, Wrory Ficklin, had a lengthy White House career, too - 40 years on the staff of the National Security Council. Presidents come and go from the White House every four years or eight years, but the Ficklin family - Woodson Ficklin, his wife, some of his brothers and sisters, and son Wrory Ficklin - was a constant presence there for nearly eight decades, serving 13 presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt to Barack Obama."

"The book is my family's history, it's African American history and it's our country's history. My dad and I both stand on my grandfather's shoulders, and I like to think that we both contributed a lot to our country."

The Ficklin family maintained a continuous presence at the White House for nearly eighty years, serving thirteen presidents from Franklin D. Roosevelt through Barack Obama. James Woodson Ficklin, whose father was born enslaved, worked as a White House butler for 44 years and was selected by Jacqueline Kennedy to stand beside President Kennedy's casket during his funeral in 1963. His son, Wrory Ficklin, served 40 years on the National Security Council staff. With Wrory's 2015 retirement, the family's full-time White House employment ended. Wrory documented this remarkable legacy in his book "An Unusual Path: Three Generations from Slavery to the White House," describing it as simultaneously his family's history, African American history, and American history.

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