State Dinner for the President of Liberia

 

Jet Magazine photo

On October 18, 1954 President V. S. Tubman of Liberia came to tour the United States, starting with Washington, DC and an official state dinner. State dinners provided the White House chef and the kitchen staff on opportunity to shine. The dinners given on these occasions are normally the most elaborate, featuring appetizer, soup, fish, meat, salad and desert courses.

White House Social Office Records, Eisenhower Presidential Library

 

The two presidents exchanged toasts, Eisenhower acknowledging the “very close association between America and Liberia” and Tubman, inspired by the occasion to ditch his prepared statement and offering his own thoughts on the relationship and his “ardent desire that the ties of friendship heretofore existing between our two countries, shall be maintained and increased with the years” The following night Tubman hosted a dinner for President Eisenhower at the Liberian Embassy.

Blair House normally serves as a guest house for visiting foreign dignitaries. The residence was undergoing renovation at the time, so President Tubman was one of the rare heads of state who stayed in the White House during Eisenhower’s administration.

After the cordial start to his trip in Washington Tubman began a three-week tour of the US. Disappointingly, but not surprisingly, the President of Liberia was forced to stay in private homes of prominent African Americans when hotels refused to admit him and his entourage.

Jet Magazine