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Robert C. Weaver | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 1stUnited States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development | |
| In office January 18, 1966 – December 18, 1968 | |
| President | Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Himself (HHFA Administrator) |
| Succeeded by | Robert Coldwell Wood |
| Administrator of theHousing and Home Finance Agency | |
| In office February 11, 1961 – January 18, 1966 | |
| President | John F. Kennedy Lyndon B. Johnson |
| Preceded by | Jack T. Conway (acting) |
| Succeeded by | Himself (HUD Secretary) |
| Chair of theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People | |
| In office 1960–1961 | |
| Preceded by | Channing Heggie Tobias |
| Succeeded by | Stephen Gill Spottswood |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Robert Clifton Weaver (1907-12-29)December 29, 1907 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Died | July 17, 1997(1997-07-17) (aged 89) New York City, U.S. |
| Party | Democratic |
| Spouse | |
| Education | Harvard University (BS,MA,PhD) |
Robert Clifton Weaver (December 29, 1907 – July 17, 1997) was an American economist, academic, and political administrator who served as the firstUnited States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development from 1966 to 1968, when the department was newly established by PresidentLyndon B. Johnson. Weaver was thefirstAfrican American to be appointed to a USCabinet-level position.[1][2]
Prior to his appointment as cabinet officer, Weaver had served in the administration of PresidentJohn F. Kennedy. In addition, he had served in New York State government, and in high-level positions in New York City. During theFranklin D. Roosevelt administration, he was one of 45 prominent African Americans appointed to positions and helped make up theBlack Cabinet, an informal group of African American public policy advisers. Weaver directed federal programs during the administration of theNew Deal, at the same time completing his doctorate in economics in 1934 atHarvard University.
Robert Clifton Weaver was born on December 29, 1907, into a middle-class family inWashington, D.C. His parents were Mortimer Grover Weaver, a postal worker, and Florence (Freeman) Weaver. They encouraged him in his academic studies. His maternal grandfather was Dr.Robert Tanner Freeman, the first African American to graduate from Harvard indentistry.[1][2]
The young Weaver attended theM Street High School, now known as theDunbar High School. The high school for Blacks at a time ofracial segregation had a national reputation for academic excellence. Weaver went on toHarvard University, where he earned aBachelor of Science andMaster of Arts degree. He also earned aDoctor of Philosophy degree inEconomics, completing his doctorate in 1934.[1][2]
In 1934, Weaver was appointed as an aide toUnited States Secretary of the InteriorHarold L. Ickes.[1][3] In 1938, he became special assistant to the US Housing Authority.[1] In 1942, he became administrative assistant to the National Defense Advisory Commission, the War Manpower Commission (1942), and director of Negro Manpower Service.[1]
With a reputation for knowledge about housing issues, in 1934 the young Weaver was invited to join PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt'sBlack Cabinet.[1][4] Roosevelt appointed a total of 45 prominent blacks to positions in executive agencies, and called on them as informal advisers on public policy issues related to African Americans, theGreat Depression and the New Deal.
Weaver drafted the US Housing Program under Roosevelt, which was established in 1937. The program was intended to provide financial support to local housing departments, as a subsidy toward lowering the rent poor African Americans had to pay. The program decreased the average rent from $19.47 per month to $16.80 per month.[citation needed] Weaver claimed the scope of this program was insufficient, as there were still many African Americans who made less than the average income. They could not afford to pay for both food and housing. In addition, generally restricted to segregated housing, African Americans could not necessarily take advantage of other subsidized housing.[citation needed]
In 1944, Weaver became director of the Commission on Race Relations in the Office of the Mayor of Chicago.[1] In 1945, he became director of community services for the Chicago-based American Council on Race Relations through 1948.[1]
In 1949, Weaver become director of fellowship opportunities for theJohn Hay Whitney Foundation. In 1955, Weaver the first Black State Cabinet member in New York when he became New York State Rent Commissioner under GovernorW. Averell Harriman.[1] In 1960, he became vice chairman of the New York City Housing and Redevelopment Board.[5]
In 1961, Weaver became administrator of the United States Housing and Home Financing Agency (HHFA).[1][4]
After election, Kennedy tried to establish a new cabinet department to deal with urban issues. It was to be called theDepartment of Housing and Urban Development. Postwarsuburban development, following the construction of highways, and economic restructuring had drawn population and jobs from the cities. The nation was faced with a stock of substandard, aged housing in many cities, and problems of unemployment.[citation needed]
In 1961, while trying to create HUD, Kennedy had done everything short of promising the new position to Weaver. He appointed him Administrator of theHousing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA),[4] a group of agencies which Kennedy wanted to raise to cabinet status.
When Dr. Weaver joined the Kennedy Administration, whose Harvard connections extended to the occupant of the Oval Office, he held more Harvard degrees – three, including a doctorate in economics – than anyone else in the administration's upper ranks.[2]
SomeRepublicans and southernDemocrats opposed the legislation to create the new department. The following year, Kennedy unsuccessfully tried to use his reorganization authority to create the department. As a result,Congress passed legislation prohibiting presidents from using that authority to create a new cabinet department, although the previousRepublicanDwight D. Eisenhower administration had created the cabinet-level USDepartment of Health, Education, and Welfare under that authority.[citation needed]
He contributed the compilation housing bill in 1961. He took part in lobbying for the Senior Citizens Housing Act of 1962.[6]
In 1965, Congress approved the department. At the time, Weaver was still Administrator of the HHFA. In public, PresidentLyndon B. Johnson reiterated Weaver's status as a potential nominee but would not promise him the position. In private, Johnson had strong reservations. He often held pro-and-con discussions withRoy Wilkins, executive director of theNAACP.[citation needed]
Johnson wanted a strong proponent for the new department. Johnson worried about Weaver's political sense. Johnson seriously considered other candidates, none of whom was black. He wanted a top administrator, but also someone who was exciting. Johnson was worried about how the new Secretary would interact with congressional representatives from theSolid South; they were overwhelmingly Democrat as most African Americans were stilldisenfranchised and excluded from the political system. This was expected to change as the federal government enforced civil rights and the provisions of theVoting Rights Act of 1965. As candidates, Johnson considered thepoliticianRichard Daley, mayor ofChicago; and thephilanthropistLaurance Rockefeller.[7]
Ultimately, Johnson believed that Weaver was the best-qualified administrator. His assistantBill Moyers had rated Weaver highly on potential effectiveness as the new secretary.[citation needed] Moyers noted Weaver's strong accomplishments and ability to create teams. Ten days after receiving the report, the president put forward the nomination, and Weaver was successfully confirmed by theUnited States Senate.[citation needed]
Weaver served as Secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1966 to 1968.[1]
Weaver had expressed his concerns about African Americans' housing issue before 1930 in his article, "Negroes Need Housing", published by the magazineThe Crisis of the NAACP after the Stock Market Crash.[8] He noted there was a great difference between the income of most African Americans and the cost of living; African Americans did not have enough housing supply because of many social factors, including the long economic decline of rural areas in the South. He suggested a government housing program to enable all the African Americans the chance to buy or rent their house.[citation needed]
In 1945, Weaver began teaching atColumbia University.[1]
In 1969, after serving under President Johnson, Weaver became president ofBaruch College.[1]
In 1970, Weaver became a distinguished professor of Urban Affairs atHunter College inNew York and taught there until 1978.[1]
In 1935, Robert C. Weaver married Ella V. Haith.[1] Theyadopted a son, who died in 1962.[9]
Weaver served on the boards ofMetropolitan Life Insurance Company (1969–1978) andBowery Savings Bank (1969–1980).[1] He served in advisory capacities to the United States Controller General (1973–1997), the New City Conciliation and Appeals Board (1973–1984), Harvard University School of Design (1978–1983), theNational Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) Legal Defense Fund and NAACP executive board committee (1978–1997).[1]
Robert C. Weaver died at age 89 on July 17, 1997, inManhattan,New York.[1][2]
Weaver received more than 30 honorary university degrees,[1] as well as the following:
Weaver wrote a number of books regarding black issues and urban housing, including:
Herbert Aptheker reviewedThe Negro Ghetto in the August 1948 issue ofMasses and Mainstream (successor to theNew Masses magazine).[11]
President Johnson discussed Weaver's possible nomination as secretary of HUD with major leaders across the country:
Media related toRobert C. Weaver at Wikimedia Commons
Works by or aboutRobert C. Weaver atWikisource| Political offices | ||
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| Preceded by | Administrator of theHousing and Home Finance Agency 1961–1966 | Succeeded by Himself as United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development |
| Preceded by Himself as Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency | United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development 1966–1968 | Succeeded by |
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