William Monroe Trotter
Encyclopedia
William Monroe Trotter was a newspaper editor and real estate business man, and an activist for African-American civil rights
. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Harvard University
, and was the first man of color to earn a Phi Beta Kappa key. Together with George Forbes, in 1901 he founded the Boston Guardian
, an independent newspaper of the African-American community. In 1905, Trotter was a charter member of the Niagara Movement
, helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
with W.E.B. Du Bois
, and independently founded the National Equal Rights League
.
and Virginia Isaacs Trotter in Chillicothe, Ohio
. His father James, son of an enslaved woman in Mississippi
and her white master, served honorably with the 55th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Colored during the American Civil War
. His mother Virginia Isaacs, also of mixed race, according to family tradition was a great-granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson
and Mary Hemings
, an older half-sister of Sally Hemings
. Descendants of Betsy Hemmings
have said that she was the daughter of Jefferson and Mary Hemings, born after he became a widower.) Virginia grew up in Chillicothe, Ohio, which had a large free black community before the Civil War. This was where she met and married James Trotter.
Shortly after the war, the Trotters moved from Ohio to settle in Massachusetts
. As their first two children died in infancy, they returned to rural Ohio
and Virginia's parents for the birth of their third child. When William was seven months old, the young family moved back to Boston, where they settled on the South End. It was far from the predominately African-American West Side of Beacon Hill. The family later moved to suburban Hyde Park
, a white neighborhood.
The father James Trotter was a man who broke through most racial obstacles placed before him. During the Civil War, he achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant
. He was later appointed Recorder of Deeds
for the District of Columbia by President Grover Cleveland
, a role filled by two other prominent men of color of that era, Fredrick Douglass (1881-1886) and Senator
Blanche Kelso Bruce
(1891-1893). He instilled similar values in his son William, who graduated as valedictorian
and was elected president of his high school class.
William Trotter went on to Harvard University
to pursue a career in international banking, graduating magna cum laude in 1895, and becoming the first man of color to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa key. He earned his Masters from Harvard in 1896.
In 1901, along with Amherst
graduate George Forbes, Trotter co-founded the Boston Guardian
, setting up shop in the same building that had once housed William Lloyd Garrison’s
Liberator. The Guardian frequently published editorials and letters opposing the conservative accommodationist policies of Booker T. Washington
, the well-known founder of Tuskegee Institute. He set up the "Boston Literary and Historical Association," which became a forum for militant political thinkers such as Du Bois and Oswald Garrison Villard
.
Along with W. E. B. Du Bois, Trotter was a charter member of the Niagara Movement
in 1905, an organization of African Americans who renounced the ideas set forth in Booker T. Washington’s "Atlanta Compromise
" speech of 1895. Trotter and Du Bois founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
in 1909. Trotter left because he did not think that whites should participate as officers of the NAACP. He founded the National Equal Rights League.
Through the Guardian, Trotter mounted a campaign against Thomas Dixon
's play The Clansman
(1905), including encouraging a protest against it. The play closed. In 1915, when the film adapted from it, Birth of a Nation opened in Boston, Trotter led pickets to demonstrate against the racist film, and the theater ended its run.
In 1912 Trotter helped support Woodrow Wilson
for president, who disappointed his supporters by allowing the re-segregation of workspaces in several federal agencies. As a political activist, Trotter led several protests against segregation in the federal government. Trotter and a group of African Americans went to the White House to protest President Wilson’s actions. Offended by Trotter’s manner and tone during their meeting, Wilson banned him from the White House
for the remainder of his term in office.
Wilson put obstacles in the way of Trotter and other African Americans who wanted to attend the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to protest treatment of African Americans in the US, by refusing to issue passports to them. Trotter obtained work as a waiter on the SS Yarmouth to gain passage overseas. While in Paris
, Trotter attended the First Pan African Congress.
In the pages of The Guardian, Trotter descried the plight of the Scottsboro boys
, nine African-American teenagers accused in 1931 of raping two white woman in Alabama. In their first trial, they were convicted and sentenced to death. They had three trials and were eventually defended by Samuel Liebowitz. Since most blacks had been disfranchised in the former Confederate states since the early twentieth century, they could not vote or sit on juries. The case ultimately went to the US Supreme Court as Powell v. Alabama
.
On the night of April 7, 1934, William Monroe Trotter fell to his death at his home
in Boston. The cause of death was given as “Unspecified”. It was his 62nd birthday.
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
. He earned his undergraduate and graduate degrees at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
, and was the first man of color to earn a Phi Beta Kappa key. Together with George Forbes, in 1901 he founded the Boston Guardian
Boston Guardian
The Boston Guardian was co-founded by William Monroe Trotter and George Forbes in 1901 at Boston, Massachusetts, and published in the same building that had once housed William Lloyd Garrison's Liberator. In March 1901, Trotter helped organize the Boston Literary and Historical Association, a...
, an independent newspaper of the African-American community. In 1905, Trotter was a charter member of the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
, helped found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
with W.E.B. Du Bois
W.E.B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, and editor. Born in Massachusetts, Du Bois attended Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate...
, and independently founded the National Equal Rights League
National Equal Rights League
The National Equal Rights League is the oldest nationwide human rights organization dedicated to the liberation of black people in the United States...
.
Early life and education
William was the third child born to James Monroe TrotterJames Monroe Trotter
James Monroe Trotter was born into slavery in Grand Gulf, Mississippi to a slave named Letitia and her master Richard S. Trotter. Letitia, along with her two sons, James Monroe and Charles Trotter, escaped on the Underground Railroad to Cincinnati, Ohio...
and Virginia Isaacs Trotter in Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe, Ohio
Chillicothe is a city in and the county seat of Ross County, Ohio, United States.Chillicothe was the first and third capital of Ohio and is located in southern Ohio along the Scioto River. The name comes from the Shawnee name Chalahgawtha, meaning "principal town", as it was a major settlement of...
. His father James, son of an enslaved woman in Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
and her white master, served honorably with the 55th Regiment of the Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Colored during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. His mother Virginia Isaacs, also of mixed race, according to family tradition was a great-granddaughter of Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was the principal author of the United States Declaration of Independence and the Statute of Virginia for Religious Freedom , the third President of the United States and founder of the University of Virginia...
and Mary Hemings
Mary Hemings
Mary Hemings, also known as Mary Hemings Bell , was born into slavery, most likely in Charles City County, Virginia, as the oldest child of Elizabeth Hemings, a mixed-race slave held by John Wayles...
, an older half-sister of Sally Hemings
Sally Hemings
Sarah "Sally" Hemings was a mixed-race slave owned by President Thomas Jefferson through inheritance from his wife. She was the half-sister of Jefferson's wife, Martha Wayles Skelton Jefferson by their father John Wayles...
. Descendants of Betsy Hemmings
John Wayles Eppes
John Wayles Eppes was an attorney, a United States Representative and a Senator from Virginia. One of the planter class, he married his first cousin Maria Jefferson, the youngest surviving daughter of Martha Wayles Skelton and Thomas Jefferson...
have said that she was the daughter of Jefferson and Mary Hemings, born after he became a widower.) Virginia grew up in Chillicothe, Ohio, which had a large free black community before the Civil War. This was where she met and married James Trotter.
Shortly after the war, the Trotters moved from Ohio to settle in Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. As their first two children died in infancy, they returned to rural Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
and Virginia's parents for the birth of their third child. When William was seven months old, the young family moved back to Boston, where they settled on the South End. It was far from the predominately African-American West Side of Beacon Hill. The family later moved to suburban Hyde Park
Hyde Park, Massachusetts
Hyde Park is a dissolved municipality and currently the southernmost neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Hyde Park is home to a diverse range of people, housing types and social groups. It is an urban location with suburban characteristics...
, a white neighborhood.
The father James Trotter was a man who broke through most racial obstacles placed before him. During the Civil War, he achieved the rank of 2nd Lieutenant
Second Lieutenant
Second lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer military rank in many armed forces.- United Kingdom and Commonwealth :The rank second lieutenant was introduced throughout the British Army in 1871 to replace the rank of ensign , although it had long been used in the Royal Artillery, Royal...
. He was later appointed Recorder of Deeds
Recorder of deeds
Recorder of deeds is a government office tasked with maintaining public records and documents, especially records relating to real estate ownership that provide persons other than the owner of a property with real rights over that property.-Background:...
for the District of Columbia by President Grover Cleveland
Grover Cleveland
Stephen Grover Cleveland was the 22nd and 24th president of the United States. Cleveland is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms and therefore is the only individual to be counted twice in the numbering of the presidents...
, a role filled by two other prominent men of color of that era, Fredrick Douglass (1881-1886) and Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Blanche Kelso Bruce
Blanche Bruce
Blanche Kelso Bruce was a U.S. politician who represented Mississippi as a Republican in the U.S. Senate from 1875 to 1881 and was the first elected African-American senator to serve a full term. Hiram R. Revels, also of Mississippi, was the first to ever serve in the U.S...
(1891-1893). He instilled similar values in his son William, who graduated as valedictorian
Valedictorian
Valedictorian is an academic title conferred upon the student who delivers the closing or farewell statement at a graduation ceremony. Usually, the valedictorian is the highest ranked student among those graduating from an educational institution...
and was elected president of his high school class.
William Trotter went on to Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
to pursue a career in international banking, graduating magna cum laude in 1895, and becoming the first man of color to be awarded a Phi Beta Kappa key. He earned his Masters from Harvard in 1896.
Marriage and family
On June 27, 1899, Trotter married Geraldine Louise Pindell (October 3, 1872 - October 8, 1918).Career
Despite his academic achievements, Trotter hit a racial glass ceiling and was frustrated in his efforts to excel in banking. He finally settled on a career in real estate. A few years later, he and a friend started a newspaper, and he served as the managing editor.In 1901, along with Amherst
Amherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
graduate George Forbes, Trotter co-founded the Boston Guardian
Boston Guardian
The Boston Guardian was co-founded by William Monroe Trotter and George Forbes in 1901 at Boston, Massachusetts, and published in the same building that had once housed William Lloyd Garrison's Liberator. In March 1901, Trotter helped organize the Boston Literary and Historical Association, a...
, setting up shop in the same building that had once housed William Lloyd Garrison’s
William Lloyd Garrison
William Lloyd Garrison was a prominent American abolitionist, journalist, and social reformer. He is best known as the editor of the abolitionist newspaper The Liberator, and as one of the founders of the American Anti-Slavery Society, he promoted "immediate emancipation" of slaves in the United...
Liberator. The Guardian frequently published editorials and letters opposing the conservative accommodationist policies of Booker T. Washington
Booker T. Washington
Booker Taliaferro Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader. He was the dominant figure in the African-American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915...
, the well-known founder of Tuskegee Institute. He set up the "Boston Literary and Historical Association," which became a forum for militant political thinkers such as Du Bois and Oswald Garrison Villard
Oswald Garrison Villard
Oswald Garrison Villard was an American journalist. He provided a rare direct link between the anti-imperialism of the late 19th century and the conservative Old Right of the 1930s and 1940s.-Biography:...
.
Along with W. E. B. Du Bois, Trotter was a charter member of the Niagara Movement
Niagara Movement
The Niagara Movement was a black civil rights organization founded in 1905 by a group led by W. E. B. Du Bois and William Monroe Trotter. It was named for the "mighty current" of change the group wanted to effect and Niagara Falls, the Canadian side of which was where the first meeting took...
in 1905, an organization of African Americans who renounced the ideas set forth in Booker T. Washington’s "Atlanta Compromise
Atlanta Compromise
The Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition Speech was an address on the topic of race relations given by Booker T. Washington on September 18, 1895...
" speech of 1895. Trotter and Du Bois founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, usually abbreviated as NAACP, is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909. Its mission is "to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of rights of all persons and to...
in 1909. Trotter left because he did not think that whites should participate as officers of the NAACP. He founded the National Equal Rights League.
Through the Guardian, Trotter mounted a campaign against Thomas Dixon
Thomas Dixon
Thomas Dixon may refer to:* Thomas Dixon , Baltimore architect*Thomas Dixon * Thomas Dixon, Jr. , American minister and author* Thomas Hill Dixon , superintendent of convicts in Western Australia...
's play The Clansman
The Clansman
The Clansman: An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan is the title of a novel published in 1905. It was the second work in the Ku Klux Klan trilogy by Thomas F. Dixon, Jr. that included The Leopard's Spots and The Traitor. It was influential in providing the ideology that helped support the...
(1905), including encouraging a protest against it. The play closed. In 1915, when the film adapted from it, Birth of a Nation opened in Boston, Trotter led pickets to demonstrate against the racist film, and the theater ended its run.
In 1912 Trotter helped support Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
for president, who disappointed his supporters by allowing the re-segregation of workspaces in several federal agencies. As a political activist, Trotter led several protests against segregation in the federal government. Trotter and a group of African Americans went to the White House to protest President Wilson’s actions. Offended by Trotter’s manner and tone during their meeting, Wilson banned him from the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
for the remainder of his term in office.
Wilson put obstacles in the way of Trotter and other African Americans who wanted to attend the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 to protest treatment of African Americans in the US, by refusing to issue passports to them. Trotter obtained work as a waiter on the SS Yarmouth to gain passage overseas. While in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, Trotter attended the First Pan African Congress.
In the pages of The Guardian, Trotter descried the plight of the Scottsboro boys
Scottsboro Boys
The Scottsboro Boys were nine black teenage boys accused of rape in Alabama in 1931. The landmark set of legal cases from this incident dealt with racism and the right to a fair trial...
, nine African-American teenagers accused in 1931 of raping two white woman in Alabama. In their first trial, they were convicted and sentenced to death. They had three trials and were eventually defended by Samuel Liebowitz. Since most blacks had been disfranchised in the former Confederate states since the early twentieth century, they could not vote or sit on juries. The case ultimately went to the US Supreme Court as Powell v. Alabama
Powell v. Alabama
Powell v. Alabama was a United States Supreme Court decision which determined that in a capital trial, the defendant must be given access to counsel upon his or her own request as part of due process.-Background of the case:...
.
On the night of April 7, 1934, William Monroe Trotter fell to his death at his home
William Monroe Trotter House
The William Monroe Trotter House, is located at 97 Sawyer Avenue atop Jones Hill in the Dorchester neighborhood of Boston. It was the home of African-American journalist William Monroe Trotter...
in Boston. The cause of death was given as “Unspecified”. It was his 62nd birthday.
Legacy and honors
- In 2002, scholar Molefi Kete AsanteMolefi Kete AsanteMolefi Kete Asante is an African-American scholar, historian, and philosopher. He is a leading figure in the fields of African American studies, African Studies and Communication Studies...
listed William Monroe Trotter on his list of 100 Greatest African Americans100 Greatest African Americans100 Greatest African Americans is a biographical dictionary of the one hundred historically greatest African Americans , as assessed by Molefi Kete Asante in 2002.-Criteria:...
. - The William Monroe Trotter Elementary School, a K-5 school named for him, is in Dorchester, Massachusetts, not far from where Trotter lived during his adult life.
- The William Monroe Trotter Institute at the University of Massachusetts Boston is named for him. The research institute focuses on the study of black history and black culture.
- The William Monroe Trotter Multicultural Center (aka Trotter House) at the University of Michigan is named for him.