First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Caroline Kennedy & Al Roker Celebrated the White House Historical Association’s 60th Anniversary at Annual Gala in Honor of First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy

Nov 05, 2021 New York, NY —

On November 4, the White House Historical Association was joined by First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Caroline Kennedy, Al Roker, donors and other special guests to celebrate the nonprofit’s 60th anniversary at its annual gala hosted at The Metropolitan Museum of Art. The gala was held in honor of the exceptional achievement of Jacqueline Kennedy who founded the organization in 1961 to protect, preserve and provide public access to the rich history of the White House.

During the evening, the Association announced its new academic partnership with the Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development at New York University, which included a monumental performance from the NYU Orchestra to signify the beginning of the new partnership. Beginning in January 2022, the organization will sponsor a semester-long fellowship that will support the work of a NYU Costume Studies graduate student, who will collaborate with the Association's Rubenstein Center’s Digital Library team to create a new digital exhibit on a topic related to fashion and White House History.

“We are honored to have upheld our founder Jacqueline Kennedy’s legacy 60 years later, continuing her mission to protect and provide public access to the rich history of the White House. The Association had the pleasure of celebrating this milestone with First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Caroline Kennedy, David Rubenstein, and other special guests to commemorate where we are and where we are going as an organization,” shared Stewart McLaurin, President of the White House Historical Association. “During the evening, we also had the opportunity to announce our partnership with New York University’s Steinhardt School to create a new digital fashion exhibit in collaboration with our Rubenstein Center’s Digital Library. We look forward to working with NYU and hope this project is the first of many collaborations.”

Led by Al Roker as the emcee, the gala included special remarks from First Lady Dr. Jill Biden, Caroline Kennedy and David Rubenstein. In her remarks, The First Lady celebrated the foundation of the White House Historical association and legacy of Jacqueline Kennedy, sharing how First Ladies have always shaped the White House over the years. The First Lady also thanked the Association for keeping the White House’s history alive and accessible for all communities. Following the First Lady, Caroline Kennedy proudly noted that her mother shared her father’s belief that the White House should serve as a stage for where America and the world could see the very best of American arts and culture. She also highlighted her mother’s many civic accomplishments throughout her time as First Lady, such as establishing the White House Historical Association and welcoming the public to the White House on a guided televised tour.

The evening also included performances by 22nd Grey Coat Battalion Fife and Drum Corps, Soprano opera singer Brandie Sutton who was accompanied by Ramón Braxton, pianist Laura Ward, NYU Steinhardt Orchestra, as well as the introduction of Steinway & Sons Replica 100,000th Piano. For more information on White House Historical Association, please visit: www.whitehousehistory.org.

Images from the event can be found here.