Ficklin Family's 80-Year White House Service

0:00I'm Corey, and this is your Pulse of the City, Durham News Today. The Fickland family served the White House for nearly eight decades, spanning 13 presidents from Franklin Delano Roosevelt to Barack Obama. That's one-third of America's history. James Woodson Fickland worked 44 years on the resident staff as a butler, while his son John Rory Fickland spent 40 years on the national, security council staff. In 1963, seven-year-old Rory learned of his dad's importance while watching President John of Kennedy's funeral on television. His mother gasped when Woodson appeared in a morning soup beside the casket at the request of Jacqueline Kennedy. The family ties Rand Deep with Woodson's wife and some siblings also working there. Rory's grandfather was born into slavery, making their story a powerful arc of progress. Rory retired in 2015, as the last full-time Fickland employee documenting the legacy in his book, An Unusual Path, Three Generations From, Slavery to the White House.

1:00He calls it Family History, African American History, and American History all-in-one, standing on his grandfather's shoulders while contributing to. The Nation This episode is supported by our sponsor, See Details in the Description, Comfort You Can Hear, Sound You Can Relax Into, S-O-L-I-SoliPillow.com