An ABC News special has identified living descendants of the enslaved laborers who built the White House in Washington, DC.
This effort highlights the overlooked contributions of enslaved people to the architectural foundation of the U.S. government. By connecting modern families to their ancestors, the project provides a genealogical breakthrough for those whose histories were erased by slavery.
The reporting focused on the contributions of individuals such as Calvert Ambush, who helped build the North Portico of the White House in 1829 [1]. The investigation was conducted in partnership with the 10 Million Names Project [2], an initiative dedicated to uncovering the identities of enslaved people across the Americas.
Researchers used the partnership to trace the lineage of these laborers, moving from historical construction records to living relatives. The project emphasizes that the physical structure of the executive mansion is inextricably linked to the labor of enslaved people, a fact often omitted from official historical narratives.
The discovery of Calvert Ambush's role in the 1829 construction [1] serves as a focal point for the broader effort to document the millions of unnamed individuals who built American infrastructure. The 10 Million Names initiative [2] seeks to restore these identities by cross-referencing census data, shipping manifests, and property records.
By bringing these descendants into the public eye, the special aims to bridge the gap between the documented history of the White House and the lived experiences of the people who physically assembled it. The project underscores the systemic nature of enslaved labor in the development of the U.S. capital.
“The physical structure of the executive mansion is inextricably linked to the labor of enslaved people.”
This research transforms the White House from a purely political symbol into a site of documented enslaved labor. By utilizing the 10 Million Names Project, the investigation moves beyond general historical acknowledgments to specific, named individuals, creating a verifiable link between the U.S. government's seat of power and the people forced to build it.
