Wilson and Trotter: Beyond the Oval Office

On November 12, 1914, William Monroe Trotter of Boston confronted President Woodrow Wilson in the Oval Office to demand that Wilson fulfil his duty to safeguard the liberty and dignity of black Americans. Wilson angrily dismissed Trotter, and the incident helped secure the latter's place in the pantheon of civil rights heroes. But Trotter was a major figure in the civil rights movement long before he entered Wilson's office, and would remain a major champion of racial equality--in America and across the world--long afterward. Join Professor Kerri Greenidge of Tufts University and Dr. Trygve Throntveit, Global Fellow for History and Public Policy at the Wilson Center, as they examine the famous Trotter-Wilson encounter for what it reveals about the long and complex careers of both figures, and of the American past in an era of social, political, and international upheaval. 

Consistent with its mission as a national memorial to the 28th U.S. president,  the Wilson Center’s History and Public Policy Program is launching “Woodrow Wilson - Then and Now," a new series of scholarly conversations exploring the significant and complicated legacies of the man and his presidency for our own day. Moderated by Trygve Throntveit, Global Fellow for History and Public Policy, the series will be a platform for an inclusive and critical discussion of Wilson’s biography, his White House tenure, and his longterm impact on U.S. foreign and domestic politics.