Dining in the White House while Black
Story by Aditya Sunder, lithograph curtesy of The White House Historical Association
At 8:00 pm on October 16th, 1901, guests arrived for dinner at the White House— guests of President Theodore Roosevelt. Among them was Booker T. Washington, an educator, renowned author, and advisor to the President. The next day, when the guest list was released, there was widespread outrage. Booker T. Washington was the first African American to be entertained in the White House. None of his previous accomplishments seemed to matter, not his then popular autobiography, “Up From Slavery,” nor his founding of the educational institution that would later become Tuskagee University. All that mattered was that he was black.
Never before had a black American dined in the White House outside the servants’ quarters and this created a huge uproar. This was still a time of segregation in America and inviting a black person to dine with the family was seen as conferring social equality to all African Americans. It was irrelevant to many that President Roosevelt was choosing to dine with his trusted advisor, and many believed that the President did not have the right to personal views on the issue. To appease the public, the White House tried to downplay the incident and spin it as a lunch, without the rest of the Roosevelt family present. However, for the African-American Community, this reaction highlighted a missed opportunity. Roosevelt proudly declared, “I shall have him to dine as often as I please.” Yet, he proceeded to never invite another African-American to dine in the White House again. Booker T. Washington visited the White House several times after that infamous dinner, but always in the morning hours, with no future dinner invitations.
It was almost thirty years before the next African-American was entertained at the White House. Jessie De Priest, the wife of Congressman Oscar De Priest, was invited to the customary tea party for congressmen’s wives held by First Lady Lou Hoover. Reports suggest that the other guests were carefully selected in order to avoid any controversy. Less than a decade later, Eleanor Roosevelt, wife of President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, entertained many African-Americans at the White House despite criticism leveled at her. In another milestone event, President Richard Nixon invited Sammy Davis Jr., the famous singer and actor, along with his wife to spend the night at the White House. Finally, on January twentieth, 2009, the Obamas would call the White House their home, and dine there every night.
While the initial reaction to Booker T Washington was hurtful and demeaning, there has been significant change over the course of the past century. Change may not have come soon enough and we may not have made as much progress as we would have liked towards racial equality. Nevertheless, it is useful to reflect upon and recognize the changes that have happened and draw encouragement from the many small acts that have brought us to this day. Booker T. Washington said later that he had hesitated before accepting the dinner invitation because he anticipated the backlash. But he knew that he owed it to his fellow African Americans to accept the historic dinner invitation and face the ugly consequences. A simple act of accepting a dinner invitation would turn out to be an important step towards equality for all races because equality is not achieved in one big act but from many choices made by many people, all pursuing a common vision of equality for all.
Sources:
https://www.npr.org/transcripts/152684575
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/booker-t-washington-visits-the-white-house
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/hoover-depriest-tea-party-creates-a-stir
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/pathbreakers-oscar-stanton-depriest-and-jessie-l-williams-depriest