A COLORED MAN'S REMINISCENCES OF JAMES MADISON by Paul Jennings

Paul was a slave of James Madison, He was freed after being sold to Senator Daniel Webster, who made Paul reimburse him. This is the earliest first hand account of life in the White House. It's quite brief, but deserves a good reading. He delivers some keen insights and even debunks some popular mythology surrounding the history of the White House and the War of 1812. This story was recently printed by the White House Historical Society.

Preface

Among the laborers at the Department of the Interior is an intelligent colored man, Paul Jennings, who was born a slave on President Madison's estate, in Montpelier, Va., in 1799. His reputed father was Benj. Jennings, an English trader there; his mother, a slave of Mr. Madison, and the granddaughter of an Indian. Paul was a "body servant" of Mr. Madison, till his death, and afterwards of Daniel Webster, having purchased his freedom of Mrs. Madison. His character for sobriety, truth, and fidelity, is unquestioned; and as he was a daily witness of interesting events, I have thought some of his recollections were worth writing down in almost his own language.

On the 10th of January, 1865, at a curious sale of books, coins and autographs belonging to Edward M. Thomas, a colored man, for many years Messenger to the House of Representatives, was sold, among other curious lots, an autograph of Daniel Webster, containing these words: "I have paid $120 for the freedom of Paul Jennings; he agrees to work out the same at $8 per month, to be furnished with board, clothes, washing," &c.&J.B.R.&

About ten years before Mr. Madison was President, he and Colonel Monroe were rival candidates for the Legislature. Mr. Madison was anxious to be elected, and sent his chariot to bring up a Scotchman to the polls, who lived in the neighborhood. But when brought up, he cried out: "Put me down for Colonel Monroe, for he was the first man that took me by the hand in this country." Colonel Monroe was elected, and his friends joked Mr. Madison pretty hard about his Scotch friend, and I have heard Mr. Madison and Colonel Monroe have many a hearty laugh over the subject, for years after.&When Mr. Madison was chosen President, we came on and moved into the White House; the east room was not finished, and Pennsylvania Avenue was not paved, but was always in an awful condition from either mud or dust. The city was a dreary place.&Mr. Robert Smith was then Secretary of State, but as he and Mr. Madison could not agree, he was removed, and Colonel Monroe appointed to his place.

Published: Brooklyn, George C. Beadle, Bladensburg Series, No. Two, 1865

LEBRON JAMES CROWNED MVP 2009

LeBron James at 24 years old has the world at his fingertips. He returned to his alma mater, St. Vincent–St. Mary High School, for the ceremony on May 4th, 2009. A select crowd of 1200-1300 were there to celebrate with him with thousands of adoring fans outside the building waiting to see the king himself.

LeBron really is of royal stock. He not only accepted his award with humility, grace and style. LeBron noted that he couldn't have accomplished all that he has without the cooperation of his fellow teammates, family and friends. When LeBron first turned pro I'm sure there were many people who wondered as I did how would he fare. Amazingly, he seems to be coming along spectacularly.

When asked what was his ultimate goal basketball was not the ultimate for LeBron. His ultimate goal was to be the best he could be, as a father, husband, teammate, etc. LeBron's mother, Gloria James, was on hand, as were his children LeBron James Jr., Bryce Maximus James and their mother Savannah Brinson. The two have yet to tie the knot, but it seems inevitable that will happen at some point in the future as LeBron has strong ties to his boys and Brinson is his high school sweetheart.

In winning the first of many MVP awards, sure to come his way as a pro, Lebron has not forgotten where he comes from. LeBron had to return to the site of other important victory celebrations, his home town of Akron, Ohio. LeBron confided in the crowd that he took the long way through the streets of Akron remembering the sights of his childhood. The people of Akron know LeBron as the hometown king, a man of the people, one of them. He returns these feelings of goodwill by continuing to give back, whenever he can.

Along with the trophy awarded by Kia Motors America came a brand new Borrego SUV which he promptly donated to the Akron Urban League, which is not unusual in and of itself. This is how it's done in the NBA, so that players are left free to endorse the cars of their choice. It appears as though that would be a Ferrari F430 spider (with Ferrari emblems ripped off and LeBron emblems put in their places). That's the car he drove to the awards ceremony. You know LeBron's got to ride in style. But, it is LeBron's style, a style he can call his own. What really impressed this reporter was the fact that, in spite of his enormous presence on his former turf, he decided to donate his vehicle to the Akron Urban League and in receiving his award he remembered to bring gifts for his fellow Cavaliers. Unfortunately, Delonte West (13) is still waiting for his Range Rover in exchange for a preseason gift given to him by LeBron.

All joking aside. It was a great day for Akron. It was a great day for LeBron and a great day for the Cavaliers, as LeBron is the first Cavalier to receive this award. LeBron's not done yet, in fact he stated unequivocally that we should expect to see the Cavaliers in the winners circle at the end of the playoffs and that he'll still keep striving for improvement even after that.


We just want to say congratulations to LeBron, the James family, the Cavaliers and Akron, Ohio for producing a great Black man who can stand head and shoulders with some of the most outstanding human beings to grace the planet.