Official White House Christmas ornament features LBJ, Voting Rights Act

Texas State University’s most famous graduate, President Lyndon Baines Johnson (B.A. ’30), will be honored this year by the White House Historical Association with the release of the Official 2021 White House Christmas Ornament.This year’s annual collectible is designed to commemorate President Johnson’s time in the White House and features a painting of the 1967 Blue Room Christmas tree, commissioned by Mrs. Johnson and painted by Robert H. Laessig. 

A quote from LBJ is featured on one side of the ornament: “Our mission is at once the oldest and the most basic of this country: to right wrong, to do justice, to serve man.” The president spoke these words to a joint session of Congress on March 15, 1965, calling on legislators to support a bill that would protect the right to vote and outlaw discriminatory measures that prevented African Americans from voting.

The flowers encircling the quote are inspired by Lady Bird Johnson’s beautification programs on the White House Grounds and throughout Washington, D.C. These are Texas bluebonnets—a favorite of Mrs. Johnson and the official state flower of Texas.

“As president, my father had an unwavering commitment to social justice,” said Luci Baines Johnson, the youngest of the Johnsons’ daughters. “It is deeply fitting for his commemoration on this year’s Official White House Ornament to feature his historic 1965 remarks to the Congress. For me, it is a very sentimental journey because I had the privilege of a lifetime to witness the signing of the 1965 Voting Rights Act.”

Now in its 60th year, the White House Historical Association is a private, nonpartisan non-profit organization that protects, preserves, and provides public access to the People’s House.

The Official White House Christmas Ornament is available for purchase online at https://shop.whitehousehistory.org/products/official-2021-white-house-christmas-ornament.