Fictional Telling of FDR’s Maid, the Unsung Hero of the Civil Rights Movement

Let Us March On by Shara Moon

A fascinating historical account of a relatively unknown woman who dared to speak out about social injustice to the most powerful and influential person in America.

Shara Moon is making a mighty splash with her debut in historical fiction: Let Us March On. The novel introduces a broader community of readers to Lizzie McDuffie, one of America’s “hidden figures”, who made a quiet difference in the early Civil Rights Movement by way of having the ear of a powerful president.

In the absence of sufficient documentation to compile a comprehensive biography of someone without descendants, close relatives, or eyewitnesses, and whose life story is largely unknown, a novel may be the best way to honor them and celebrate their contributions. This author ably imagines her subject’s inner thoughts, conversations and actions taken that have not been expressed in correspondence, diaries or journals. It’s an inspirational story effectively reminding readers how a single individual many would consider to be an insignificant person can powerfully influence opinions and make a lasting difference.

Early Life and Education

Lizzie was born in 1881 in Covington, Georgia to parents who were sharecroppers and former slaves. This beautiful small town is now a suburb of Atlanta where she attended high school and graduated from Morris Brown College, a private Methodist historically black liberal arts college. Active in her church, she also loved the theater, literature and public speaking. 

Despite her fine education, employment opportunities were limited. She worked as a maid and nanny for the affluent Inman family of Atlanta for over 30 years until accepting employment as a White House maid in 1933. She maintained contact with the Inmans until her death.

Lizzie first became acquainted with Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1927 when her barber husband Irvin “Mac” McDuffie was hired to be his valet, a position he kept until 1939 when he went to work for Henry Morgenthau Jr., Secretary of the Treasury.  FDR then required two full-time valets and a personal barber to replace the services of this exceptionally hard working man.

The McDuffies Inside the White House

Also the son of slaves, Mac had a very light complexion as his unnamed grandfather had been the plantation owner where his grandmother was a house servant. His hours were exceedingly long and duties extensive, with responsibility for the needs of a paraplegic. 

He woke FDR each morning, assisted him with his ablutions, followed by putting on his metal leg braces, then clothing, and settled in his wheelchair before breakfast was served. In addition to cleaning and organizing the president’s clothing and shoes, he kept his hair well-barbered although FDR did prefer to shave himself. His duties didn’t end until Mr. Roosevelt’s braces were removed and he was helped into bed at night. With the exception of overseas trips, Mac traveled with FDR and kept up this exhausting routine for twelve years.

Self-Apointed Secretary on Colored People’s Affairs

Lizzie was a large, sturdy woman who was soon called upon to help Mac lift the president into his wheelchair and quickly got to know him.  She soon moved from her position as third floor maid to become FDR’s personal maid.

The McDuffies had the closest personal relationship with the president of any of the domestic servants in the White House. Thus they were in a unique position to speak with him about issues and concerns of the black community. Lizzie somewhat kiddingly declared to FDR she was his “SASOCPA”, short for “self-appointed secretary on colored people’s affairs”. He appreciated her warmth, cheerful good humor, intelligent observations and loyalty and customarily called her “Doll”.  He permitted them to act as unofficial liaisons between the White House and the Black press who were not included in press briefings.

Lizzie McDuffie, in her informal role as trusted advisor, was able to facilitate communication between the President and the Nation’s Black Civil Rights leaders including NAACP head Walter White, National Youth Administration leader Mary McLeod Bethune and Civilian Conservation Corps’ Edgar G. Brown who were ignored if not completely blocked by Press Secretary Stephen Early.

An Avid Reader and Potential Actress

She occasionally successfully suggested entertainers for the White House including Marian Anderson and Atlanta’s Morehouse Quartet. Both Lizzie and Mac were avid readers and enjoyed access privileges to the White House library.

Gone with the Wind was published in June, 1936, selling one million copies in its first six months and winning the Pulitzer Prize in 1937. There was a waiting list in the White House but after Lizzie read it, she wrote to author Margaret Mitchell praising what instantly became her favorite novel. Lizzie claimed to have re-read it many times and became a regular correspondent with the reclusive Atlanta journalist and author.

When casting for the film began, Margaret Mitchell lobbied for Lizzie McDuffie to be given the role of Mammy. It may have been a publicity stunt on the part of the studio, but Lizzie traveled to New York to audition for the role and received three call backs before seasoned actress Hattie McDaniel was hired. 

Championing Civil Rights from the Inside

One of Lizzie’s proudest achievements was successfully bringing to his attention the wrongful imprisonment of three Black WWI servicemen who were erroneously accused in 1917 of taking part in a riot. They weren’t tried or convicted and yet remained incarcerated. After examining the evidence with the participation of NAACP’s Walter White, President Roosevelt ordered the release of the men with full pardons.

The “back door” news Lizzie brought to FDR included conversations about federal government hiring policies stemming back to President Woodrow Wilson’s workplace mandates of racist segregation and limited opportunities for managerial positions. In June, 1941, FDR issued Executive Order 8802 to prevent “racial and ethnic discrimination in the federal government and the nation’s defense industry.”

Eleanor Roosevelt had made the decision to have an entirely Black American White House staff of domestic servants. Each person hired was required to obtain a security clearance, observe absolute discretion and remain out-of-sight when guests were present unless it was someone they were directly serving.

While it was a prestigious job that included all meals, uniforms, and living quarters for many, including the McDuffies, the pay was comparable to what one might earn in the private sector. These were salaried positions at a time when the minimum wage was 25-30 cents per hour.

Lizzie McDuffie actively campaigned within the black community to reelect FDR, traveling in the Midwest in 1936 on his behalf while lodging in private homes. She also became actively involved as the treasurer of the United Government Employees Incorporated (UGE), encouraging a minimum wage of $1500 per year for all federal employees including maids and laundresses.

Legacy of a Forgotten Crusader

Elizabeth “Lizzie” McDuffie is an unsung crusader who served for twelve years as personal maid and informal advisor to President Roosevelt in the White House. She also worked for First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt and was entrusted to travel with their family and retinue to their home in Hyde Park, New York and to Warm Springs, Georgia.

Lizzie was there with the president when he died on April 12, 1945 and rode the funeral train back to Washington, DC. She returned home to Atlanta at the conclusion of her service at the White House. Mac soon followed but passed away the following year.

During her tenure at the White House, she served King George VI and Elizabeth, Queen Mother and Duchess of York, when they visited the Roosevelts during their four-day visit to America in 1939. Notoriously, they were hosted to a family picnic at Hyde Park where they gamely consumed those American specialties: hot dogs ‘elegantly’ served on paper plates. The Roosevelt White House was known for its austerity and the lack of culinary sophistication.

Lizzie met countless celebrities, entertainers, diplomats and dignitaries, other members of European royalty as well as numerous politicians and advisors. Her autograph book bulged with signatures of people she admired, and she amassed some treasured mementos from the Roosevelts, including signed books, photographs and letters.

Final Years and Lasting Impact

Her primary work as a maid kept her out of the public eye, and despite her positive influence, she is barely known in the records of the early civil rights movement, but Elizabeth “Lizzie” McDuffie did leave a legacy. Her brief six-chapter unpublished memoir was titled The Back Door of the White House, from which an excerpt was published in Ebony magazine in 1952.

This unsung heroine passed away on November 27, 1966 and is buried at Southview Cemetery in Atlanta. Her presidential gifts, mementos and papers are archived in the Elizabeth and Irvin McDuffie Papers at the Robert W. Woodruff Library, Atlanta University Center.

Shara Moon has written a fascinating historical account of a relatively unknown woman who dared to speak out about social injustice to the most powerful and influential person in America, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Book Club readers will certainly have an abundance of material to discuss with this novel.