Booker T. Washington dinner at the White House

Booker T. Washington; Theodore Roosevelt

On October 16, 1901, shortly after moving into the White House, President Theodore Roosevelt invited his adviser, the African American spokesman Booker T. Washington, to dine with him and his family. The event provoked an outpouring of condemnation from white politicians and press in the American South.^[1] This reaction affected subsequent White House practice and no other African American was invited to dinner for almost thirty years.^[2]

^ Gould, Louis L (28 November 2011). Theodore Roosevelt. USA: Oxford University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-19979701-1. His first action in October 1901 was to invite the prominent black leader Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House. […] When the social event news became public, southern newspapers erupted with denunciations of Roosevelt's breach of the color line.
^ Lusane, Clarence (23 January 2013). The Black History of the White House. City Lights Publishers. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-87286611-9. LCCN 2010036925. Although the controversy eventually died down, its impact shaped White House politics for decades. No black person would be invited to dinner at the White House again for nearly thirty years[.]

[Gould-1] Gould, Louis L (28 November 2011). Theodore Roosevelt. USA: Oxford University Press. p. 45. ISBN 978-0-19979701-1. His first action in October 1901 was to invite the prominent black leader Booker T. Washington to dine at the White House. […] When the social event news became public, southern newspapers erupted with denunciations of Roosevelt's breach of the color line.

[Lusane256-2] Lusane, Clarence (23 January 2013). The Black History of the White House. City Lights Publishers. p. 256. ISBN 978-0-87286611-9. LCCN 2010036925. Although the controversy eventually died down, its impact shaped White House politics for decades. No black person would be invited to dinner at the White House again for nearly thirty years[.]

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