"Writing in The Crisis in 1911, W.E.B. Du Bois bitterly described Taft's betrayal of black Americans. "In the face of a record of murder, lynching and burning in this country which has appalled the civilized world and loosened the tongue of many a man long since dumb on the race problem, spite of this, Mr. Taft has blandly informed a deputation of colored men that any action on his part is quite outside his power, if not his interest.""