Jesse J. Holland - The Invisibles: The Untold Story of African American Slaves in the White House

Jesse J. Holland is the author of Black Men Built the Capitol: Discovering African-American History In and Around Washington, D.C. A longtime writer for The Associated Press, Holland graduated from the University of Mississippi and received a Master of Fine Arts in creative nonfiction from Goucher College in Maryland. He lives in Bowie, Maryland, with his wife and children. Follow him on his website, www.jessejholland.com.

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Copyright 2016 by Jesse J. Holland

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ISBN 978-1-4930-0846-9

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For Carol, Rita, and Jamie, who make it all worth it to me.

THIS FIVE-YEAR PROJECT IS LOVINGLY DEDICATED TO MY WIFE AND children, who had to put up with me skipping bicycle rides, story times, violin practice, date night, and other assorted activities so I could huddle downstairs in the basement office with my computer and music composing these words. Without Carol June, Rita Elaine, and Jesse James III, none of this would have been worth doing. You three are why I do what I do, and I hope you know how much I love you.

Special thanks go to my parents, Jesse and Yvonne Holland. My fatherthe first Jesse J. Hollandread an earlier version of this work a couple of years ago and said simply, Its good. I can feel the smile spreading over my face now as I remember that seemingly offhand comment from him as we sat chatting late one night when I was visiting my childhood home in Mississippi. I dont think Ive received a higher compliment in my life. And Mom, you know all of this is you, right? Your curiosity, your determination, your single-mindedness, and your creativity are all reflected in everything I do. The world lost a great writer when you selflessly decided to spend your career teaching English instead of finishing up your own work. And I still think the world deserves to read The Backwoods of Benton County. Were going to have to do something about that.

I also have to thank my family in Mississippi: My sisters and brother, Twyla, Candace, and Fred, kept me sane and grounded when I felt like banging my head against a wall, and kept pushing when I felt like giving up; my nieces and nephewAlexandria, Samantha, Fred Jr., Aida, and AnnieI look forward to the next time Im at home and we get to spend some serious quality time together; and all of my cousins, uncles, aunts, and other relatives who make up the extended Holland and Boga families. Youre all the best and Ill see you Thanksgiving and/or at the next reunion.

Dr. Rita Womack is deserving of a special thanks on this page for being there whenever she was needed in any capacity that was required at that moment. I wouldnt get out the door every morning without her help, and so, thank you from the bottom of my heart. My in-laws, Mark and Leslie, also deserve mention here because they always take on some of my burdens when theyre here so I can write.

There are so many other people who helped me get to this point: the entire Goucher College community but especially Patsy Sims, the former director of the Creative Nonfiction Master of Fine Arts program, where parts of this work were first refined as an idea and then as my MFA thesis. And then there were my Goucher mentors, each of whom contributed greatly to this project: Jacob Levenson, who came up with the name for this project, a version of which currently adorns the cover; Laura Wexler, who gave me the confidence that you could be a journalist and a long-form storyteller all at the same time (and whose advice on looking at your own family for great story potential I plan to use in my next project); my dearest Diana Hume George, who was always there with a word of wisdom when I most desperately needed to hear it and someone who gives me hope that someday when I grow up I can be a real writer; and Leslie Rubinkowski, the new director of the Goucher Creative Nonfiction Master of Fine Arts program, who got me across the finish line with the inimitable style and grace she brings to everything. And a big thank you goes to my fellow Goucher MFAers (next study halls on me!), but especially Stef Loh, Becky Lerner, Annmarie Chiarini, Lisa Whipple, Earl Swift, Mike Capuzzo, Fanny Brewster, Becky Lerner, Nena Baker, Magin Lasov Gregg, Lyra Hilliard, Mora Lee, Robyn Barberry, Meredith May, Ann Stader, Mike Freeman, Holly Sneeringer, Lauren Sallinger, and Julie Strauss Bettinger, who all read pieces of this during our two years together at Goucher.

Thank you to everyone at the Carol Mann Literary Agency, but especially to my agent, Joanne Wyckoff. In addition to being my agent, Joanne helped craft the proposal used to sell The Invisibles as one of my instructors at Goucher. Her deft touch can be seen throughout this book, and writers, if you get a chance to work with her on a proposal? Take it. She knows what shes doing.

There are so many people who took time out of their day to answer questions and direct me on how to find needed information who need to be mentioned here: the library staff at the Thurgood Marshall Library at Bowie State University for allowing me to use their facilities during my research and writing phases; the now-retired Yvonne Lev at Goucher College for her fabulous researching skills; the library staff at the Bowie branches of the Prince Georges County Library; the library staff in the Sojourner Truth room at the Oxon Hill branch of the Prince Georges County Library; the library staff at the University of Marylands Theodore McKeldin Library; the staff at the Library of Congress and the National Archives in Washington, DC, who are probably tired of seeing me by now; and the employees at Mount Vernon, Monticello, Montpelier, The Hermitage, Ash LawnHighland, Sherwood Forest, and the Spring-field plantations. I was always fearful that people whose jobs depend on making early presidents lives look good would not be willing to talk about their slaves but everyoneand I mean everyonewas not only willing but eager to help. A special thanks goes to Marsha Mullin at The Hermitage, Beth Taylor at Montpelier, and Nancy Stetz at Ash LawnHighland, whose help Ill always appreciate. Thank you to all of those researchers and writers whose work paved the way for this book: Annette Gordon-Reed, Wil Heygood, Clarence Lusane, Garry Wills, Tingba Apidta, Lucia Stanton, Mary V. Thompson, Kenneth T. Walsh, Bob Arnebeck, Sandra Fitzpatrick, Maria R. Goodwin, Dorothy Price-Haskins, William Seale, and William Bushong; Alexandra Lane and everyone else at the White House Historical Association; Richard Baker and Donald Ritchie in the US Senate; and everyone else who has written or helped research slavery in Washington, DC. A special thanks goes to Arthur Johnson, a historical interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, who helped start me down this road years ago (I couldnt remember his name after I met him the first time, but we reconnected on a second trip to Colonial Williamsburg and I told him I would thank him properly in my second book!).