It was called the White House from the time it was repainted after the British burned it in the War of 1812. It is true that Roosevelt had to endure an enormous amount of vile criticism for his dinner with Booker T. Washington, and he was the first president to use the term White House in an official way, but that is certainly not where the term originated. Did Roosevelt make the name official because of the "Guess who's coming to dinner" incident? Maybe, but I don't know of any evidence for that theory. Anybody?

You have demonstrated more knowledge on the topic than I have. The interview I paraphrased above was the first I had heard on the topic. The interview itself revolved around Professor Clarence Lusane's book "The Black History of the White House". What I paraphrased above was preceded by Thom's question on how it came to be called the White House followed by Prof. Lusane's response that it was lengthy, complicated and the product of a lot of digging, then he went on to say what I paraphrased. I think the thing of importance I took from their discussion was this bit of Black history and how it isn't something which is common knowledge history.

Instead of deleting my OP it would be better to leave this added information up for discussion. I knew none of this, thank you Spider Jerusalem. I will add an edit too the OP.

1. To honor a Democratic Senator from Rhode Island
2. Because after Jimi Hendrix, no one can think of Red House in any other context

I suppose there might be other explanations...........

at least to me now in my present mental state.

When you come back down, you may yet opt for the Rhode Island solution.....

From the White House website:
Why is the White House white?

"White paint has nothing to do with covering the burning of the house by the British in 1814, although every schoolchild is likely to have heard the story that way. The building was first made white with lime-based whitewash in 1798, when its walls were finished, simply as a means of protecting the porous stone from freezing. Congressman Abijah Bigelow wrote to a colleague on March 18, 1812 (three months before the United States entered war with England):

"There is much trouble at the White House, as we call it, I mean the President's" (quoted in W. B. Bryan, "The Name White House," Records of the Columbia Historical Society 34-35 [1932]: 308)."
https://www.whitehousehistory.org/questions/why-is-the-white-house-white

We want to believe the worst in order to help us believe we're the best or let us complain even more.

"Picnic" falls into this category.

"Squaw."

"Peanut gallery."

And a lot of other examples.

We want--sometimes need--to believe the claims, but ultimately it goes back to "they're bad, and I need more reasons to justify my belief that they're bad." What others actually do that's bad isn't enough; they must be vilified and demonized to justify something or other. What actually was done helps us to believe fictions. And if it's in the past, that's even better, because it justifies ill will 200 years later. We assume the premise and get to the desired conclusion, then often pride ourselves on our awesome critical thinking skills.