Unless WE Tell It...

Excerpts from my book, Unless WE Tell It...It Never Gets Told! and Chapter 29 - Racism and the American Presidency- Part I.

"WOODROW WILSON, who won both the 1912 and 1916 Presidential Elections, is often held up as an example of a “progressive” president, but many, myself included, consider him to have been a Racist in Presidential Clothing.

In order to win the African American vote, Wilson made the campaign promise that he could be counted on “for absolute fair dealing, for everything by which I could assist in advancing the interests of [the African] race in the United States.” But following Wilson’s election, his first Congress sent him some of the most racist legislation in the history of that body, and Wilson promptly signed it.

As president of Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson would not hire Black applicants; during that time, Princeton was the only major northern university that refused to admit Black students. On taking power in Washington, Wilson brought his own brand of racism with him, which included telling “darkie” jokes during his Cabinet meetings. He appointed many pro-segregation Southerners to his Cabinet, which allowed them to quickly change the way the federal government handled racial issues, and he used the power of the Presidency to impose widespread segregation in the federal government.
Having said during his campaign that he would improve the conditions of Blacks in the country.

After he was elected, President Wilson did nothing to make good on his campaign promises. In fact, he acted to re-segregate the federal workplace. Following the Civil War, Blacks had been employed in various federal jobs in Washington, D.C., and often the offices they worked in were integrated; in many departments, white clerks worked under Black supervision. Wilson’s Cabinet put an end to that, and in fact ended Blacks having access to federal jobs. Moreover, his Administration made it mandatory to include a photograph with any application for a federal position, which further facilitated the exclusion of Blacks from government jobs.

President Wilson allowed officials to segregate work areas of their departments, even segregating the lavatories. One reason given was that white government workers had to be protected from various contagious diseases, particularly venereal diseases, which Wilson claimed were widespread among Blacks.

President Wilson pushed for segregation of federal workers, systematically demoted Black civil servants, and claimed that nothing could be done to improve the situation of Blacks in the country. He refused to meet with Black leaders, to appear at Black conferences on issues of race, or to publicly denounce lynching. During World War I, President Wilson’s administration relegated Black soldiers to non-combat labor billets, claiming that they were incapable of fighting courageously. Under Wilson, the Navy allowed Blacks only to serve as “mess boys,” and the Marines did not accept Blacks in any capacity."

From then to now...trump...Woodrow Wilson...Racist presidents. Nothing has changed.

The Struggle Continues!

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