President Rebukes Negro
Title
President Rebukes Negro
Creator
Unknown
Identifier
CS40
Date
1914 November 12
Description
Clipping from unidentified newspaper about the Trotter incident.
Source
Library of Congress
Wilson Papers, Series 4, 152A Reel 231, Manuscript Division
Wilson Papers, Series 4, 152A Reel 231, Manuscript Division
Publisher
Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum
Subject
Trotter, William Monroe, 1872-1934
African-Americans--segregation
Contributor
Althea Cupo
Maria Matlock
Language
English
Provenance
Digital copy acquired from federal archives by previous WWPL Archivist, Heidi Hackford.
Text
PRESIDENT REBUKES NEGRO
Spokesman of Delegation from Equal Rights League Oversteps Bounds in White House Interview.
Washington, Nov. 12.- In heated, argumentative manner, negros, delegates from the National Independent Equal Rights League today demanded from President Wilson the abolition of segregation in the government departments, and received a sharp and pointed rebuke from him.
The President said to the delegation that W. Monroe Trotter, the spokesman, had spoken to him in an objectionable way, and that when another interview was desired, the organization would have to send another representative.
The President made a lengthy address to the negro delegates, beginning by rebuking them for dragging politics into the question and saying that if they had made a mistake in voting for him, they ought to vote against him. He said it was a human and not a political question that confronted them. He said he had not sought the Presidency of the United States. He added that his present burdens were almost too much for human flesh to bear.
Shortly after this point in his address Trotter began to interrupt the President and question him about various points he had made. The President declined to submit to this, saying that Trotter evidently was trying to put passion into his questions and that he was speaking to him, Woodrow Wilson, the man, rather than to the President of the United States.
The President declared that he believed the interests of the negro would be best served by making him independent of the white race. He said that segregation was undertaken to avoid friction and trouble between the two races, and that no matter how much they might deplore prejudice existing between the white and the negro, they must take into account the fact that it exists. The problem cannot be dealt with in a sentimental, but a practical way, he added.
Spokesman of Delegation from Equal Rights League Oversteps Bounds in White House Interview.
Washington, Nov. 12.- In heated, argumentative manner, negros, delegates from the National Independent Equal Rights League today demanded from President Wilson the abolition of segregation in the government departments, and received a sharp and pointed rebuke from him.
The President said to the delegation that W. Monroe Trotter, the spokesman, had spoken to him in an objectionable way, and that when another interview was desired, the organization would have to send another representative.
The President made a lengthy address to the negro delegates, beginning by rebuking them for dragging politics into the question and saying that if they had made a mistake in voting for him, they ought to vote against him. He said it was a human and not a political question that confronted them. He said he had not sought the Presidency of the United States. He added that his present burdens were almost too much for human flesh to bear.
Shortly after this point in his address Trotter began to interrupt the President and question him about various points he had made. The President declined to submit to this, saying that Trotter evidently was trying to put passion into his questions and that he was speaking to him, Woodrow Wilson, the man, rather than to the President of the United States.
The President declared that he believed the interests of the negro would be best served by making him independent of the white race. He said that segregation was undertaken to avoid friction and trouble between the two races, and that no matter how much they might deplore prejudice existing between the white and the negro, they must take into account the fact that it exists. The problem cannot be dealt with in a sentimental, but a practical way, he added.
Original Format
Newspaper Article
Files
Collection
Citation
Unknown, “President Rebukes Negro,” 1914 November 12, CS40, Race and Segregation Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.