Lillian Rogers Parks

Lillian Rogers Parks (February 1, 1897 – November 6, 1997) was an American housemaid and seamstress in the White House.

With the journalist Frances Spatz Leighton, co-author of a number of White House memoirs, Parks published My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House. The book covers a 50-year period in the life of domestic staff in the White House. It reports Parks' experiences as a seamstress, and those of her mother, 'Maggie' Rogers, who served as a housemaid for thirty years.[1] Lillian Rogers Parks was portrayed by Leslie Uggams in the 1979 miniseries Backstairs at the White House.[2] Many of the gifts she received (revealed in the aforementioned book) from presidents during her time there later became notable artifacts and collectibles associated with presidential history, eventually ending up in the Raleigh DeGeer Amyx Collection.[3] She also published The Roosevelts: A Family in Turmoil in 1981 in collaboration with Frances Spatz Leighton.[4] She was an honorary member of Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority.[5]

Publications
  • 1961: My Thirty Years Backstairs at the White House. New York: Fleet ASIN B0007FEFI6 (with F. S. Leighton)
  • 1969: It was Fun Working at the White House. New York: Fleet ISBN 978-0830300839 (with F. S. Leighton)
  • 1981: The Roosevelts: A Family in Turmoil. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall ISBN 0-13-783043-2 (with F. S. Leighton)

References
  1. "Lillian Parks (100) dies; had backstairs White House view". The New York Times. November 12, 1997. Retrieved 2010-01-30.
  2. Buck, Jerry. “Former White House maid says TV series set fine.” The Lima News, 20 July 1978
  3. Harrington, Walt (20 December 1985). "Relics Make American History: Memorabilia Collector Has Presidential Aspirations". Los Angeles Times.
  4. "Copyright Catalog (1978 to present): The Roosevelts : a family in turmoil / by Lillian Rogers Parks, in collaboration with Frances Spatz Leighton". United States Copyright Office. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
  5. "AKAmplished Alpha Kappa Alpha Women". Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc., Eta Epsilon Omega Chapter. Retrieved 3 July 2019.
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