"Turned Down: Bishop Derrick Refused Glass of Soda Water at Wurster Bros. Fountain," Headline from the Portsmouth Daily Times (29 September 1904).

Bishop W. B. Derrick's denial of service at Wurster Brothers Drug Store upset the members of the Ohio Conference of the AME Church and rallied support for the on-going local opposition to racial segregation, which had been expressed earlier in the year at a mass meeting of Portsmouth's black residents. The segregation controversy grabbed the attention of the local and national press with both the Portsmouth and the New York Times covering the story.