Trotter Confronts Wilson (1914)
This Day in Esoteric Political History
Jody Avirgan & Radiotopia
4.6 • 982 Ratings
🗓️ 17 November 2022
⏱️ 18 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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It’s November 17th. In 1914, activist William Monroe Trotter confronted President Wilson, in the Oval Office, over the treatment and degradation of Black Americans. Wilson became enraged at the conversation and threw Trotter out of the White House.
Jody, Niki, and Kellie discuss the heated moment, the larger Jim Crow context for the confrontation, and Trotter’s larger legacy.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to this day in esoteric political history from Radiotopia. |
| 0:07.0 | My name is Jody Avergan. |
| 0:10.0 | This day, November 1914, William Monroe Trotter of Boston confronts President Woodrow Wilson |
| 0:18.0 | in the Oval Office to demand that Wilson fulfills his duty to safeguard the liberty and dignity of all Americans, |
| 0:25.0 | including and especially black Americans. |
| 0:27.9 | So suffice to say, this is quite the moment, especially in this year of 1914, really remarkable a black American standing |
| 0:35.4 | up to the president during the heart of the Jim Crow era in the Oval Office. |
| 0:39.8 | What drama? |
| 0:40.8 | I don't think I need to sell it more than that, right? |
| 0:43.4 | Let's just dive right in. |
| 0:45.9 | Here to discuss, as always, |
| 0:47.1 | Nikolheimer Vanderbilt, and Kelly Carter Jackson of Wellesley. |
| 0:49.6 | Hello there. |
| 0:50.4 | Hello Jody. |
| 0:51.8 | Hey there. I want to paint the scene of that Oval Office Confrontation, but one other scene to paint first is, you know, |
| 0:59.6 | 1914 in America, both the North and the South, Jim Crow America, what is the context? |
| 1:06.7 | What is the larger sort of racial context for this moment? |
| 1:10.7 | I mean, this is what Rayford Logan calls the nadir which he says it's one of the worst |
| 1:17.2 | periods in American history for race that race relations are off the charts and a few more years you're going to get |
| 1:24.9 | red summer you're going to get riots all across the country and at this point in |
| 1:30.4 | time you know lintings are about two people per week which is |
| 1:34.9 | astounding to think that you know every year hundreds of people are being lynched |
... |
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