In her 45 years of service on Capitol Hill, Christine McCreary saw great changes in both the Senate and in Washington, D.C. She left Bethune-Cookman College to come to the capital as a secretary during World War II. While working in the Federal Security Administration typing pool, she was called to take dictation for the chairman of the National Security Board,
Stuart Symington. Symington was impressed with her work and invited her to join his staff when he became director of the Reconstruction Finance Corporation and when he was elected to the Senate as a Missouri Democrat in 1952. McCreary was one of the first African American staff members to challenge the de facto segregation that existed by dining regularly in the staff cafeterias. Remaining with Senator Symington until his retirement, she then joined the staff of Ohio senator
John Glenn.
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Scholarly citation: "Christine S. McCreary, Staff of Senator Stuart Symington, 1953–1977 and Senator John Glenn, 1977–1998," Oral History Interviews, May 19, 1998, Senate Historical Office, Washington, D.C.
Disclaimer: The Senate Historical Office has a strong commitment to oral history as an important part of its efforts to document institutional change over time. Oral histories are a natural component to historical research and enhance the archival holdings of the Senate and its members. Oral histories represent the personal recollections and opinions of the interviewees, however, and should not be considered as the official views or opinions of the U.S. Senate, of the Senate Historical Office, or of other senators and/or staff members. The transcripts of these oral histories are made available by the Senate Historical Office as a public service.
