On March 18, 1869 the new President Ulysses S. Grant signed legislation eliminating the word “white” wherever it was used as a qualification for voting, serving on a jury, or holding office. The bill had earlier passed both houses but was held as a pocket veto by Pres. Johnson. Washington, considered a “Southern” city until the Civil War, had a long history of discriminatory legislation.
Source: The Political History of the United States of America During the Period of Reconstruction
By Edward McPherson p. 395
