"Niggers in the White House" was a racist poem that first appeared in many American newspapers between 1901 and 1903. The author wrote it because he did not like Booker T. Washington, an African-American political leader, teacher and author, attending a dinner at the White House. Washington had been invited by President Theodore Roosevelt, who was white. Many years later, in 1929, the poem appeared again. This was after African-American congressman Oscar DePriest's wife went to a tea for congressional wives at the White House. She had been invited by First Lady Lou Hoover. Many white people, especially in the Southern United States, did not like either visit. They held the opinion then that African-American people should not be involved in government affairs.