Pink Collar Workers: Zephyr Wright

Zephyr Wright (1915-1988) served as President Lyndon B. Johnson’s personal chef for nearly three decades. While her southern cooking filled stomachs and won hearts, her experiences as a Black woman in the Jim Crow South inspired Johnson’s signing of the Civil Rights Act. 

This month, we’re bringing back some of our favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed! We’ll be talking about Pink Collar Workers: women who revolutionized jobs that have traditionally been called "women's work." Through their lives, they created a more just and humane world for us today.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:01):
Hello from Wonder Media Network. I'm Jenny Kaplan and this
is Wamanica. This August, we're bringing back some of our
favorite Womanica episodes you might have missed. All month, we'll
be talking about pink collar workers. These women revolutionized jobs
that have traditionally been called women's work. Through their lives,
they created a more just and humane world for us today.

(00:21):
With that, here's one of our favorite episodes.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Hi, I'm kill Daemone. I'm a Floridaborne chef, writer, host,
and recipe developer. I served as an executive chef of
a New York City restaurant at the age of twenty
four and became Chairbomb magazine's first culinary director at twenty five.
I've been named one of sixteen chefs changing Black Food
in America by The New York Times and Forbes thirty

(00:52):
Under thirty in Food and Beverage. In twenty twenty one,
I found it Kiafisa People, a budding mutual aid effort
focusing on food apartheide in Brooklyn. I'll be your guest
host for this month of Womanica. This month, we're talking
about taste makers. We're celebrating the black chefs cooks and
food historians who created new food ways and preserved important

(01:16):
culinary stories of the past. Today's Womaniquin served as President
Lyndon B. Johnson's personal chef for nearly three decades. While
her Southern cooking filled stomachs and won hearts. Her experiences
as a black woman in the Jim Crow South inspired

(01:36):
Johnson's signing of the Silver Rights Act. Let's talk about
Zephyr Wright. Zephyr was born in nineteen fifteen in Marshall, Texas,
a town just west of the Texan Louisiana border. She

(01:57):
was raised by her grandparents on a farm side of town.
After graduating high school, she attended Wiley College, one of
the first black universities west of the Mississippi River. There,
Zephyr studied home economics. She planned to become a domestic
worker or private cook in Marshall, but two of Zephyr's

(02:20):
professors had another destination in mind for her. When Lady
Bird Johnson paid a visit to Wylie College one September
looking to hire a family cook, they immediately recommended Zephyr
for the job. Zephyr had never met the Johnson family,
but it turned out she had a bit in common

(02:41):
with Ladybird. They both grew up in rural outskirts of
Marshall and graduated from Marshall High School. Zephyr's aunt even
previously worked for Ladybird's father. Zephyr agreed to take the job.
She loved Marshall for Walker Washington, d C, where Lyndon B.

(03:02):
Johnson was serving in the House of Representatives. Zephyr would
make fried chicken, hash, peach, ice cream, spoon bread, and
her Pedanales river chili, comforting Southern classics that reminded the
Johnson family of their home in Texas. Soon, Zephyr's cooking
became famous among the political crowd in DC. Former Speaker

(03:25):
of the House Sam Rayburn called Zephyr the best Southern
cook this side of Heaven. In nineteen sixty four, Zephyr
was seated front and center in the presidential box at
President Johnson's inauguration. At the start of his presidency, the

(03:46):
White House executive chef was the classically trained renavered On.
Zephyr joined the White House kitchen to continue cooking just
for the family and for small gatherings, but it didn't
take long time for Renee to grow frustrated with President
Johnson's requests for homie Southern meals and tex mechs. Once

(04:08):
the President asked him to switch from fresh to frozen vegetables,
and that was the final straw, Renee resigned. Another classically
trained chef, Henry Haler, took over as executive chef, even
without the official title of head chef. Zephyr's influence in

(04:30):
the White House kitchen was large. When President Johnson would
come back to the White House slave with extra unexpected
dinner guests, Zephyr was the one who came up with
the idea to serve extra booze to keep them distracted
while additional food was prepared. Zephyr was the one who
cooked President Johnson's low fat diet following a heart attack,

(04:53):
and scolded him whenever he didn't follow it. Zephyr's cooking
became so famous Americans would write into the White House
requesting recipe cards for her dishes. When the White House
released a recipe card for Zephyr's paternala is chili, it
calls quite a stir, now known as the Great Chili

(05:15):
Controversy of nineteen sixty four. According to Minnie, chili is
a stew consisting of chili powder, tomatoes, meat, and pencil beans.
But according to Texans, chili is a beanless dish. As such,
the Texan chef's chili recipe did not call for beans. Now,

(05:39):
Americans were writing into the White House expressing confusion and
even outrage. Was it a misprint? Did President Johnson eat
chili with beans? Did President Johnson leg beans at all?

Speaker 1 (05:52):
We have corresponded asking us if the President and this
family like beans.

Speaker 2 (06:01):
Oh, I would say, yeah, you like pork and beans.

Speaker 1 (06:04):
He like pemp tal beans. He like a lima bean,
green beans. If that's green limers our grid, that's green.

Speaker 2 (06:14):
Lineer Zephyr asshured the public the President does like beans,
just not in his chili. Zephyr didn't just influence the
president's diet, she also influenced his policy. President Johnson would
often ask Zephyer how well he was addressing the needs
of black Americans, and Zephyr would explain to him the

(06:36):
realities of racism. Throughout Johnson's political career, he would frequently
make trips between DC and his hometown of Stonewall, Texas,
accompanied by his favorite chef, but whenever they made pitstops
in the South. Jim Crow laws meant Zephyr and the
other black staffers were denied hotel accommodations. Eventually, Zephyr had

(07:01):
enough of the racist treatment, so in President Johnson again
requested she drive back to Texas with her husband, Sammy.
Zephyr refused. When we drive to Texas and I have
to go to the bathroom like Lady Bird or the
other girls, I am not allowed to go to the bathroom.
I have to find a bush and squat, Zephyr once

(07:23):
told Johnson. When it comes time to eat, we can't
go into restaurants. We have to eat out of a
brown bag. And at night Sammy sleeps in the front
of the car with the steering wheel around his neck
while I sleep in the back. We are not going
to do it again. President Johnson told this story many

(07:44):
times when arguing his case for the Civil Rights Act
of nineteen sixty four. Zephyr was in the room when
the President signed the bill into law. When he was
done signing, he gave her the pen he used, saying
you deserve this more than anyone one else. Zephyr's job

(08:06):
in the White House was tiring, working such long hours,
juggling so many meals and events took a toll on
Zephyr's health. She'd enjoyed her job more when she was
simply the Johnson's family chef, so in nineteen sixty eight,
she announced she would retire from cooking at the end
of President Johnson's administration. When he left the presidency in

(08:29):
nineteen sixty nine the Johnson's return to Texas, Zephyr remained
in DC, where she spent the rest of her days
until she passed away in nineteen eighty eight.

Speaker 1 (08:44):
Thanks for listening to this best of episodeable Manica. For
more information, find us on Facebook and Instagram at Wamanica
Podcast Special thanks to lose Kaplan, my favorite sister and
co creator. As always, will be taking a break for
the weekend. Join us on Monday for another one of
our favorite episodes, honoring Pink Holler workers. Talk to you then,