RR Moton to Woodrow Wilson
Title
RR Moton to Woodrow Wilson
Creator
Moton, Robert Russa
Identifier
CS55
Date
1914 November 16
Description
Director of the Hampton Institute writes to President Wilson to apologize for William Trotter.
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
Relation
CS70
Language
English
Provenance
Digital copy acquired from federal archives by previous WWPL Archivist, Heidi Hackford.
Text
THE HAMPTON NORMAL AND AGRICULTURAL INSTITUTE HAMPTON, VIRGINIA
Honorable Woodrow Wilson, President,
White House,
Washington, DC
My dear Mr. President:
I wish most heartily and sincerely to thank you for your very kind and encouraging letter of November 6th, which was read at our meeting last Thursday night to an audience of between five and six thousand people of whom between a thousand and fifteen hundred were white. Negroes came from all parts of Virginia representing all kinds of organisations among Negroes and, of course, we had the leading white people of Norfolk present, men and women.
I doubt if you realise, Mr. President, how much encouragement and hope your letter gave my people. It undoubtedly encouraged our white friends also in the splendid service they are rendering along the lines of rational cooperation with black people for the highest development of all the people in this state and the South.
Your letter has been copied in several editorials within the past few days, to show your kindly feeling toward Negroes, as contrasted with the very unfortunate incident of Mr. Trotter, and I want to say that the Negroes, generally, do not in any way approve of Mr. Trotter's conduct at the White House. You perhaps don't know that Mr. Trotter was made to serve a jail sentence in Boston some years ago for breaking up a meeting in which Dr. Booker T. Washington was speaking in the interest of race Co-operation and encouraging his race, as he has always done, along lines of practical education, and I think the people who selected Mr. Trotter to head a committee to wait on the Chief Executive of the Nation were short-sighted, to say the least.
Again thanking you for your kindness and expressing my own regrets and the regrets of ninety-nine percent of the thoughtful Negroes of this land at Mr. Trotter's attitude and words, I beg to remain, Sir,
Yours sincerely,
R.R. Moton
Honorable Woodrow Wilson, President,
White House,
Washington, DC
My dear Mr. President:
I wish most heartily and sincerely to thank you for your very kind and encouraging letter of November 6th, which was read at our meeting last Thursday night to an audience of between five and six thousand people of whom between a thousand and fifteen hundred were white. Negroes came from all parts of Virginia representing all kinds of organisations among Negroes and, of course, we had the leading white people of Norfolk present, men and women.
I doubt if you realise, Mr. President, how much encouragement and hope your letter gave my people. It undoubtedly encouraged our white friends also in the splendid service they are rendering along the lines of rational cooperation with black people for the highest development of all the people in this state and the South.
Your letter has been copied in several editorials within the past few days, to show your kindly feeling toward Negroes, as contrasted with the very unfortunate incident of Mr. Trotter, and I want to say that the Negroes, generally, do not in any way approve of Mr. Trotter's conduct at the White House. You perhaps don't know that Mr. Trotter was made to serve a jail sentence in Boston some years ago for breaking up a meeting in which Dr. Booker T. Washington was speaking in the interest of race Co-operation and encouraging his race, as he has always done, along lines of practical education, and I think the people who selected Mr. Trotter to head a committee to wait on the Chief Executive of the Nation were short-sighted, to say the least.
Again thanking you for your kindness and expressing my own regrets and the regrets of ninety-nine percent of the thoughtful Negroes of this land at Mr. Trotter's attitude and words, I beg to remain, Sir,
Yours sincerely,
R.R. Moton
Original Format
Letter
To
Wilson, Woodrow, 1856-1924
Files
Collection
Citation
Moton, Robert Russa, “RR Moton to Woodrow Wilson,” 1914 November 16, CS55, Race and Segregation Collection, Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library & Museum, Staunton, Virginia.