Geraldine Whittington (September 11, 1931 – January 24, 1993) was the personal executive

secretary A secretary, administrative professional, administrative assistant, executive assistant, administrative officer, administrative support specialist, clerk, military assistant, management assistant, office secretary, or personal assistant is a ...

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

Lyndon B. Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

, and was the first

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

secretary in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. It is located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., and has been the residence of every U.S. president since John Adams in ...

. Johnson was famous for working long hours and insisting his assistants worked long hours as well. When John F. Kennedy was assassinated and Johnson became president, he requested a new slate of secretaries. He saw Whittington working in a government office, and requested that his assistant Jack Valenti get her home phone number. Johnson called her unannounced one evening, and requested that she come in that night for an interview. According to audiotapes of Johnson's phone calls, Whittington at first thought the call was a joke, but came to believe that it really was the president on the line. She applied for the job and was offered the position. Having a black woman in the White House was very unusual in the early 1960s. Johnson wanted to advertise the fact that he had hired a black woman, but chose not to call a news conference. Instead, he arranged for Whittington to appear on the television

game show A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or demonstrative and are typically directed by a host, ...

''"

What's My Line? ''What's My Line?'' is a panel game show that originally ran in the United States on the CBS Television Network from 1950 to 1967, originally in black and white and later in color, with subsequent U.S. revivals. The game uses celebrity panelis ...

"'', wherein contestants attempted to guess her profession. This may have seemed less overt, but probably exposed her to more viewers than if a standard press conference had been held. Whittington appeared on episode #696 of the game show ''

'' on January 19, 1964. She was the first contestant. The mystery guest that evening was Van Heflin and the panel consisted of

Arlene Francis Arlene Francis (born Arline Francis Kazanjian; October 20, 1907 – May 31, 2001) was an American actress, radio and television talk show host, and game show panelist. She is known for her long-running role as a panelist on the television game s ...

Steve Allen Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

, Dorothy Kilgallen, and

Bennett Cerf Bennett Alfred Cerf (May 25, 1898 – August 27, 1971) was an American writer, publisher, and co-founder of the American publishing firm Random House. Cerf was also known for his own compilations of jokes and puns, for regular personal appearanc ...

. After Whittington signed the blackboard as "Jerri Whittington," she told host John Daly that she was from West River, Maryland. Whittington's occupation was shown on the screen as "Secretary to President Johnson." After her game, she described President Lyndon Johnson with the following words, "great warmth, fair, kind, a perfectionist." Later Whittington appeared in several magazines, including '' Jet'' and ''

Sepia Sepia may refer to: Biology * ''Sepia'' (genus), a genus of cuttlefish Color * Sepia (color), a reddish-brown color * Sepia tone, a photography technique Music * ''Sepia'', a 2001 album by Coco Mbassi * ''Sepia'' (album) by Yu Takahashi * " ...

''. She was the first person to learn that Justice

Thurgood Marshall Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...

had been nominated by President Johnson to the Supreme Court. Minutes before LBJ made the official announcement, he took his nominee down to her office and said, "Here's the next Supreme Court Justice!" She told friends that she thanked the President for making the choice of the first Black court justice. After suffering a stroke at age 38, Ms. Whittington died of cancer at age 61 in Washington, DC, on January 24, 1993, on the same day as Justice Thurgood Marshall.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Whittington, Jerri 1931 births 1993 deaths African-American women in politics Contestants on American game shows Lyndon B. Johnson administration personnel People from Anne Arundel County, Maryland Personal secretaries to the President of the United States