Citizen's Soapbox

Lafayette Park is a place where many influential protests for social justice have taken place.  It has been, and continues to be, a focal point for the expression of American ideals. Inspired by the First Amendment, citizens continue to exercise their rights of free speech here, using Lafayette Park as their stage and the White House as their valued audience.

A Tempest in a Teapot  ›  The Depriest Tea Incident

First Lady Lou Hoover's invitation to Jessie L. DePriest to a White House tea party in 1929 created a storm of protest and indignation. The story of Oscar and Jessie DePriest highlights the courage and contributions of Oscar Stanton DePriest, the sole black voice in Congress at that time, to the history of social justice and the American civil rights struggle and the grace and poise of his wife who ably represented a generation of black women.

"The Half Had Not Been Told Me"  ›  African Americans in Lafayette Square, 1795-1965

Lafayette Square—known first as President's Square—is a landscape with a rich and varied African-American history. Prior to emancipation, both free and enslaved African-Americans lived and worked on the Square. It also has been a place of defiance and protest for social justice—from an enslaved woman who sued Henry Clay for her freedom in 1829 to citizens gathering at St. John's Church in 1963, in preparation for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

A Colored Man's Reminiscences of James Madison  ›  Paul Jennings [PDF]

White House Slave, Free Man and Conspirator for Freedom, African-American servant to James Madison, Paul Jennings, wrote one of the very first White House memiors: "A Colored Man's Reminiscences of James Madison."

Educational School Field-Trip Programs  ›  

"Paths to Freedom: Slavery, Emancipation and the Power of the President" ... Paths to Freedom field trip program while students recreate the events surrounding the signing of the Emancipation Proclamation. Each student researches and acts the part of an historic character from the 1860s and traces President Abraham Lincoln's steps as he considered emancipation and its alternatives. These scenes are videotaped and transferred to a DVD for the class to keep.

"African Americans in the White House Neighborhood" ... Students explore the history of Lafayette Square, its evolution from residential neighborhood to federal enclave through perspectives of the African American community, free and enslaved, and the interactions of the communities –white and black – in the President's Neighborhood.

For the Classroom  ›  

The President and Public Pressure, "For a Redress of Grievances" (Grades 9-12)

• FDR, A. PHILIP RANDOLPH AND THE DESEGREGATION OF THE DEFENSE INDUSTRIES


• TRUMAN, A. PHILIP RANDOLPH AND THE DESEGREGATION OF THE ARMED SERVICES


• JFK, A. PHILIP RANDOLPH AND THE MARCH ON WASHINGTON