Confronting Race At The White House In 1929 [podcast 1 min 38 sec]

This week's scene of the president, vice president, a Harvard professor and Cambridge policeman meeting so civilly over beers might be an occasion to note how much history can change. Host Scott Simon takes a moment to note that back in 1929, Lou Hoover, the wife of President Herbert Hoover, used an event at the White House as an opportunity to confront the race issue by inviting the wife of a newly-elected African-American congressman to tea.