"1 was born and raised in the South. There is no place where it is easier to cement friendship between the two races than there. They understand each other better than elsewhere. You may feel assured of my entire comprehension of the ambitions of the negro race and my willingness and desire to deal with that race fairly and justly."

As President, Wilson allowed several of his most prominent cabinet members to segregate federal work facilities and to discriminate against black employees. Wilson, however, felt that such segregation was a “benefit” to African-Americans and allowed it to continue. However, according to the editor of Wilson's papers and his premier biographer, Arthur S. Link, the brouhaha over this stunned and grieved Wilson so that the Treasury Dept. quietly reversed this segregation policy and its spread to the whole government was checked.See the Timeline for July 23, 1913.