To: Mr. Angier Biddle Duke
From: Pedro A. Sanjuan
This is to inform you of the experience of Dr. W.H. Fitzjohn, Charge d'Affaires for Sierre Leone in Washington, an incident which has been receiving some publicity in the United States press. This memorandum includes information on the action taken by the Department of State together with some notes on the final outcome of the case.
On the 9th of March at 5:00 p.m., Dr. Fitzjohn left his residence at 4821 Colorado Avenue, N.W. on a trip by private car that was to take him to Pittsburdgh, Pennsylvania.
Several months ago Dr. Fitzjohn had been the guest of the city of Hagerstown, and at that time he learned that all public facilities in that city had been desegregated. Dr. Fitzjohn also remembered that in 1957 the President of the Howard Johnson restaurant chain had apologized to a Ghanaian diplomat who was refused servuce in a restaurant belonging to this chain. Therefore, Dr. Fitzjohn planned to stop at one of these for supper, believing that their policy was non-discriminatory.
Dr. Fitzjohn stopped at the Howard Johnson restaurant located outside Hagerstown, Maryland, at 7:00 p.m. Both Dr. Fitzjohn and Mr. Stewart Robinson, his driver, were met by hostile looks as they entered the restaurant and by a waitress who stated to them that they would not be served. Dr. Fitzjohn identified himself as a diplomat, but the waitress reiterated that he still could not be served. Next Dr. Fitzjohn asked to see the supervisor, to which the waitress replied, in an unpleasant tone, that she was the supervisor. The waitress then turned her back on Dr. Fitzjohn and left him unattended.
The diplomat and his driver waited fifteen minutes longer, during which time they were not served. They then left the premises with a feeling of embarrassment.
At a lecture in Pittsburgh, Dr. Fitzjohn mentioned the incident and state to the audience that he felt emotionally upset. However, Dr. Fitzjohn did not make an issue of this matter with his government because he felt that such an incident might tend to strain the cordial relations that exist between Sierra Leone and the United States.
Action Taken by the Department of State:
Upon receiving this information on April 5, the Office of Protocol got in touch with Dr. Fitzjohn by telephone and secured from him the above account of the incident. The Assistant to the Chief of Protocol expressed to Dr. Fitzjohn sincere regrets and indicated to the diplomat that the action of one waitress did not consitute the feelings of the American people. Dr. Fitzjohn was informed at this time that action would be taken by the Department of State in this matter.
On April 6, the Chief of Protocol conferred with Dr. Fitzjohn and discussed, to the satisfaction of the Charge d"affaires of Sierra Leone, the measures that were being taken by the Department of State toremedy this situation. The Department of Justice, in accordance with procedures previously established in a meeting at the White House, was informed by the Office of Protocol of the incident in Hagerstown. A letter of apology was sent to Dr. Fitzjohn and another letter was sent to the President of the Howard Johnson chain, Mr. Howard D. Johnson, asking for an explanation of the policy of these restaurants.
On April 9th,the Chief of Protocol visited Dr. Fitzjohn in order to go over with the representative from Sierra Leone th action that was taken by the Department of State to prevent the recurrence of such incidents. The Chief of Protocol expressed the profound regrets of the Department concerning this incident and explained the functions of the Special Projects Section of the Office of Protocol, recently created to deal with the problems of diplomats in Washinton. On this same day telephone conversations were held with the White House on possible courses of action that would be taken if the Hagerstown situation did not resolve itself.
On the 10th of April, word was received from Hagerstown that the Mayor and the Citizen's Council made public statements decrying the occurrence of this incident. The President of Howard Johnson restaurants stated positively that discrimination was not tolerated in his restaurants. Mr. Howard D. Johnson issued a public apology in Miami, stating tht he was unaware that such a thing had happened in one of his restaurants.
On the 11th of April, the Department of State received word that the Mayor of Hagerstown was issuing an invitation to Dr. Fitzjohn asking the diplomat to come back to Hagerstown to be received by the Mayor and the city authorities. It is quite possible that Dr. Fitzjohn will also accept an invitation to return to the Howard Johnson restaurant, where this time he will be a welcomed guest.
The positive solution of this unfortunate affair proves that the bigoted action of one individual does not represent the feelings of the American people. It served as a catalyst for an expression of friendship and good will that the American people have for the people of Africa.
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This is a copy of a document on file in the Bard Library. Applied Social Sciences Computer Research Lab Comments to Joan A. Andersen, SBS Webmaster: joanaa@umd5.umd.edu Baltimore City Community College Content copyright © 1996 Joan A. Andersen; Revised: 1 August, 1996 URL: http://www.erols.com/bcccsbs