Oct 26, 2023
Bertie Bowman, the son of South Carolina sharecroppers who arrived at the U.S. Capitol in 1944 at 13 years old, got a $2-a-week job sweeping the building’s steps, and then became the longest-serving African American congressional aide in history. He continued to work in the Capitol after his retirement for nearly 60 years.
“Folks like Bertie don’t make the newspapers, and the American people usually will never know their names, but they work hard every day to get done all the things the people in the papers get credit for. He epitomizes the kind of citizen that makes this country great.” — Former President Bill Clinton
Thank you Bertie. Rest in power.
