No. 690 William Munroe Trotter
William Monroe Trotter helped to found the Niagara Movement, the precursor of the NAACP, and a major milestone in the Negro Protest Movement of the twentieth century. Trotter, the first Black American elected to Harvard College’s Phi Beta Kappa Society, sharply criticized the policieses of accommodation advocated by Booker T. Washington.
When Trotter became active in discussions about race, he started The Guardian newspaper, which proclaimed itself an organ to voice intelligently the needs and aspirations of the colored American. The editorials made The Guardian notorious and prompted its readers to strongly-felt opinions. Week after week, Trotter attacked the person, prestige and racial policies of Booker T. Washington. Their bitter rivalry led eventually to lawsuits and counter suits. William Monroe Trotter considered himself much more of an activist than the Bookerites who would go along with policies detrimental to Black people. Trotter founded the Niagara Movement with W.E.B. DuBois and others. He became a critic of politicians, especially Roosevelt and Wilson. When Wilson encouraged the segregation of employees in government departments, Trotter objected.
“Jones Hill Journalist, Activist Helped Found Precursor to NAACP.” By Antony Sammarco, Dorchester Community News, February 18,1994.
PDF1058 Sammarco William Monroe Trotter DCN Feb 18 1994