Let Us March On
By Shara Moon
(William Morrow Paperbacks)
Interview by Diane Slocum
Lizzie McDuffie was a longtime nanny for a family in Atlanta and her husband, Mac, was Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s valet before he became president. Once FDR moved into the White House, Lizzie joined her husband in Washington and hired on as a maid. At first, her duties were the same as any White House maid, but before long, as Mac’s wife, she was noticed by the president and Mrs. Roosevelt. Her duties came to include keeping up the president’s bedroom and in the process, the friendship FDR had developed with Mac extended to Lizzie. She once jokingly gave herself a title as a liaison for African Americans and he came to realize how valuable she actually was in that capacity. Though she didn’t have an official title, people began turning to her to bring their plight to the president’s attention. When she first signed on as a maid, Lizzie could never have imagined what a journey those years in the White House would turn out to be.
AUTHORLINK: How did you first learn about Lizzie McDuffie and how did you decide to write a novel about her?
MOON: I learned about Elizabeth McDuffie from research I was doing for another book I had been working on. I needed someone that had some influence in the White House, particularly with the president or first lady, but who was also approachable and sympathetic to the issues of African Americans. An author friend of mine (Kaia Alderson, author of In a League of Her Own) sent me an article of Mrs. McDuffie and I knew she needed her own story.
AUTHORLINK: How did you research her life and her times?
MOON: I got the opportunity to sit in the Robert W. Woodruff archive library in Atlanta and comb through all of the McDuffie letters and artifacts. I also visited the Little White House in Warm Springs and got a chance to tour the home, guest, and servants’ quarters. It was all a fascinating experience. I learned so much on that research trip, but what especially surprised me was how beloved Lizzie was from family, friends, and strangers alike. The amount of condolences that were sent to her after her husband’s death, and then later her mother’s, was heart-warming to see. There were also multiple correspondents from Eleanor Roosevelt after they all left the White House that proved what a close friendship they had.
AUTHORLINK: How do you think the McDuffie’s and the Roosevelts were able to develop such an intimate relationship? Not all maids and valets would wind up so close to their bosses, especially with a family in such a powerful position.
MOON: I think their shared leg injury/disability drew FDR and his valet Mac close together. They had physical limitations they had to not only overcome but also prove to others that it didn’t define or hinder them in fulfilling their duties. With Lizzie being the only maid allowed to enter the President’s bedroom, I think that personal setting allowed them to be vulnerable with each other in a way that not many are accustomed to with their employer.
AUTHORLINK: What is one of your favorite instances showing how Lizzie and FDR worked together?
MOON: For me, there was no one set instance. For me, what I found endearing were those moments when FDR would check in with Lizzie on some of the people he had learned about from Lizzie and had made efforts to ease their burden, like the three veterans he had pardoned for their wrongful conviction during the Houston Riot and the highly publicized and controversial Scottsboro Boys case. As Lizzie stated in her memoir, FDR had a “memory like an elephant.” He seemingly never forgot those who were left to be forgotten.
AUTHORLINK: What is another time when FDR showed how much Mac and Lizzie meant to him, and he to them?
MOON: I think during the time of Mac’s declining health, it was evident from how FDR tried to protect Mac’s privacy and keep him on staff that show how much he cared for his valet. He even went as far as to secure a new, easier position for Mac after leaving his position. Also, from Mac’s desire to continue working with his “Boss” despite his own physical discomfort, it was obvious how much he also adored FDR.
AUTHORLINK: How do you think Lizzie’s story can help us have a positive influence on the issues of our time?
MOON: During her crusade, Lizzie never gave up and never lost hope. As Martin Luther King, Jr. once said: “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run walk, if you can’t walk crawl, but by all means keep moving.” I can only hope that people today maintain hope for a better future and keep fighting for what’s right.
AUTHORLINK: How did you get interested in black world history and who are some of the other unsung heroes you have written about?
MOON: I’ve always been interested in history, especially black history. I think my passion for wanting to learn more came after I left school and realized there was so much uncovered history to learn. Things that are not included in the textbooks. Lizzie McDuffie is the first unsung hero that I’ve gotten the honor to write about, but I would love to one day write a story about Cathay Williams, the first and only (documented) Buffalo soldier who enlisted as “William Cathay” to fight during the Civil War.
AUTHORLINK: What are you working on next?
MOON: I’m working on my next historical fiction novel, a post-WW1 story about a mother and widow fighting to honor the fallen soldier they both loved and lost. This story was the book that actually sparked Lizzie McDuffie’s story and takes place during FDR’s presidency! Visit my website (www.sharamoon.com) for more on that.
About the Author: Shara Moon is a first-generation Haitian-American. She graduated from the University of Central Florida and the City College of New York. She has been a writing instructor and is now working on her second novel, following the debut of Let Us March On. She enjoys studying and writing about Black history, especially discovering unsung heroes who deserve to have their stories told.
