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Nov. 6th, 2008 09:50 amAmerica has come a long way since 1901 when Theodore Roosevelt invited Booker T.Washington, a black leader, to dine at the White House. A journalist leaked this news to the press, and the reaction that followed seems incredible, by modern standards:
The headline in the Atlanta Constitution blasted, "President Roosevelt Proposes to Coddle Descendants of Ham." When Roosevelt accepted the "learned negro" at his table, the Chattanooga Times grumbled, he "went out of his way to offend the American idea of propriety and social distinction." The New Orleans Times-Democrat complained that Roosevelt had acted as if "the negro is the social equal of the white man," and the Richmond Dispatch declared, "We do not like Mr. Roosevelt's negrophilism at all." Republican Senator Foraker of Ohio cited the Washington dinner and called Roosevelt a man "of whom we may all be proud," but Ben Tillman, future senator for South Carolina, thundered, "Social equality means decadence and damnation." Alabama leaders thought Washington "had better sense than to share a meal with the president's wife and daughter," and one Southern congressman grumbled, "I confess, Booker Washington is a smart 'nigger' and way above the average, but at the same time he is a 'nigger' just the same."
The newspaper "Memphis Scimitar" ran an editorial entitled "The President Dines a Darkie" which said:
"The most damnable outrage which has ever been perpetrated by any citizen of the United States was committed yesterday by the President, when he invited a nigger to dine with him at the White House. It would not be worth more than a passing notice if Theodore Roosevelt had sat down to dinner in his own home with a Pullman car reporter, but Roosevelt the individual and Roosevelt the President are not to be viewed in the same light…He has not inflamed the anger of the Southern people; he has excited their disgust. "
South Caroline senator Ben Tillman claimed, “The action of President Roosevelt in entertaining that nigger will necessitate our killing a thousand niggers in the South before they will learn their place again.”
After this, whenever Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washingtom to the White House, the meeting was always scheduled for 10 a.m., so that the President did not have to offer his guest either breakfast or lunch.
The headline in the Atlanta Constitution blasted, "President Roosevelt Proposes to Coddle Descendants of Ham." When Roosevelt accepted the "learned negro" at his table, the Chattanooga Times grumbled, he "went out of his way to offend the American idea of propriety and social distinction." The New Orleans Times-Democrat complained that Roosevelt had acted as if "the negro is the social equal of the white man," and the Richmond Dispatch declared, "We do not like Mr. Roosevelt's negrophilism at all." Republican Senator Foraker of Ohio cited the Washington dinner and called Roosevelt a man "of whom we may all be proud," but Ben Tillman, future senator for South Carolina, thundered, "Social equality means decadence and damnation." Alabama leaders thought Washington "had better sense than to share a meal with the president's wife and daughter," and one Southern congressman grumbled, "I confess, Booker Washington is a smart 'nigger' and way above the average, but at the same time he is a 'nigger' just the same."
The newspaper "Memphis Scimitar" ran an editorial entitled "The President Dines a Darkie" which said:
"The most damnable outrage which has ever been perpetrated by any citizen of the United States was committed yesterday by the President, when he invited a nigger to dine with him at the White House. It would not be worth more than a passing notice if Theodore Roosevelt had sat down to dinner in his own home with a Pullman car reporter, but Roosevelt the individual and Roosevelt the President are not to be viewed in the same light…He has not inflamed the anger of the Southern people; he has excited their disgust. "
South Caroline senator Ben Tillman claimed, “The action of President Roosevelt in entertaining that nigger will necessitate our killing a thousand niggers in the South before they will learn their place again.”
After this, whenever Roosevelt invited Booker T. Washingtom to the White House, the meeting was always scheduled for 10 a.m., so that the President did not have to offer his guest either breakfast or lunch.
