Robert Clifton Weaver (December 29, 1907 – July 17, 1997) was an American economist, academic, and political administrator who served as the first
United States secretary of housing and urban development
The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet, and thirteenth in the presidential line of succe ...
(HUD) from 1966 to 1968, when the department was newly established by President
Lyndon B. Johnson. Weaver was the
first
First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1).
First or 1st may also refer to:
*World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement
Arts and media Music
* 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
to be appointed to a US
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
-level position.
[
][
]
Prior to his appointment as cabinet officer, Weaver had served in the administration of President
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
. In addition, he had served in New York State government, and in high-level positions in New York City. During the
Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
administration, he was one of 45 prominent African Americans appointed to positions and helped make up the
Black Cabinet
The Black Cabinet, or Federal Council of Negro Affairs or Black Brain Trust, was the informal term for a group of African Americans who served as public policy advisors to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in his te ...
, an informal group of African-American public policy advisers. Weaver directed federal programs during the administration of the
New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
, at the same time completing his doctorate in economics in 1934 at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
.
Background
Robert Clifton Weaver was born on December 29, 1907, into a middle-class family in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
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
Robert Tanner Freeman (18461873) was an American dentist. As one of the first six students to attend the Harvard School of Dental Medicine, he became the first African American to graduate with a dental degree in the United States on March 10, 18 ...
, the first African American to graduate from Harvard in
dentistry
Dentistry, also known as dental medicine and oral medicine, is the branch of medicine focused on the teeth, gums, and mouth. It consists of the study, diagnosis, prevention, management, and treatment of diseases, disorders, and conditions o ...
.
The young Weaver attended the M Street High School
M Street High School, also known as Perry School, is a historic former school building located in the Northwest Quadrant of Washington, D.C. It has been listed on the District of Columbia Inventory of Historic Sites since 1978 and it was listed on ...
, now known as the Dunbar High School. The high school for blacks at a time of racial segregation
Racial segregation is the systematic separation of people into race (human classification), racial or other Ethnicity, ethnic groups in daily life. Racial segregation can amount to the international crime of apartheid and a crimes against hum ...
had a national reputation for academic excellence. Weaver went on to Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, where he earned a Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
and Master of Arts
A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...
degree. He also earned a Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
degree in Economics
Economics () is the social science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services.
Economics focuses on the behaviour and intera ...
, completing his doctorate in 1934.
Career
Government
![Robert C](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/42/Robert_C._Weaver_1966.jpg)
Washington
In 1934, Weaver was appointed as an aide to United States Secretary of the Interior
The United States secretary of the interior is the head of the United States Department of the Interior. The secretary and the Department of the Interior are responsible for the management and conservation of most federal land along with natural ...
Harold L. Ickes
Harold LeClair Ickes ( ; March 15, 1874 – February 3, 1952) was an American administrator, politician and lawyer. He served as United States Secretary of the Interior for nearly 13 years from 1933 to 1946, the longest tenure of anyone to hold th ...
.[ In 1938, he became special assistant to the US Housing Authority.][ In 1942, he became administrative assistant to the National Defense Advisory Commission, the War Manpower Commission (1942), and director of Negro Manpower Service.][
With a reputation for knowledge about housing issues, in 1934 the young Weaver was invited to join President ]Franklin D. Roosevelt
Franklin Delano Roosevelt (; ; January 30, 1882April 12, 1945), often referred to by his initials FDR, was an American politician and attorney who served as the 32nd president of the United States from 1933 until his death in 1945. As the ...
's Black Cabinet
The Black Cabinet, or Federal Council of Negro Affairs or Black Brain Trust, was the informal term for a group of African Americans who served as public policy advisors to President Franklin D. Roosevelt and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt in his te ...
.["New Administration: Ornaments on the Tree"](_blank)
''Time'' (January 6, 1961). Retrieved May 20, 2011 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, the Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
and the New Deal.
Weaver drafted the U.S 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. 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.
Chicago
In 1944, Weaver became director of the Commission on Race Relations in the Office of the Mayor of Chicago.[ In 1945, he became director of community services for the Chicago-based American Council on Race Relations through 1948.][
]
New York
In 1949, Weaver become director of fellowship opportunities for the John Hay Whitney
John Hay Whitney (August 17, 1904 – February 8, 1982) was U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom, publisher of the ''New York Herald Tribune'', and president of the Museum of Modern Art. He was a member of the Whitney family.
Early life
Whit ...
Foundation. In 1955, Weaver the first Black State Cabinet member in New York when he became New York State Rent Commissioner under Governor W. Averell Harriman
William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...
.[ In 1960, he became vice chairman of the New York City Housing and Redevelopment Board.
]
Washington: HUD
In 1961, Weaver became administrator of the United States Housing and Home Financing Agency (HHFA).
After election, Kennedy tried to establish a new cabinet department to deal with urban issues. It was to be called the Department of Housing and Urban Development
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It administers federal housing and urban development laws. It is headed by the Secretary of Housing and Urb ...
. Postwar suburban
A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separate ...
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.
In 1961, while trying to create HUD, Kennedy had done everything short of promising the new position to Weaver. He appointed him Administrator of the Housing and Home Finance Agency (HHFA), 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.
Some Republicans
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
and southern Democrats 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
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of a ...
passed legislation prohibiting presidents from using that authority to create a new cabinet department, although the previous Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower (born David Dwight Eisenhower; ; October 14, 1890 – March 28, 1969) was an American military officer and statesman who served as the 34th president of the United States from 1953 to 1961. During World War II, ...
administration had created the cabinet-level U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare under that authority.
He contributed the compilation housing bill in 1961. He took part in lobbying for the Senior Citizens Housing Act of 1962.
In 1965, Congress approved the department. At the time, Weaver was still Administrator of the HHFA. In public, President Lyndon 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 with Roy Wilkins, Executive Director of the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
.
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 the Solid South; they were overwhelmingly Democrat as most African Americans were still disenfranchised
Disfranchisement, also called disenfranchisement, or voter disqualification is the restriction of suffrage (the right to vote) of a person or group of people, or a practice that has the effect of preventing a person exercising the right to vote. D ...
and excluded from the political system. This was expected to change as the federal government enforced civil rights and the provisions of the Voting Rights Act
The suffrage, Voting Rights Act of 1965 is a landmark piece of Federal government of the United States, federal legislation in the United States that prohibits racial discrimination in voting. It was signed into law by President of the United ...
of 1965. As candidates, Johnson considered the politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
Richard Daley, mayor of Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
; and the philanthropist
Philanthropy is a form of altruism that consists of "private initiatives, for the Public good (economics), public good, focusing on quality of life". Philanthropy contrasts with business initiatives, which are private initiatives for private goo ...
Laurence Rockefeller
Laurance Spelman Rockefeller (May 26, 1910 – July 11, 2004) was an American businessman, financier, philanthropist, and conservationist. Rockefeller was the third son and fourth child of John D. Rockefeller Jr. and Abby Aldrich Rockefeller. As ...
.
Ultimately, Johnson believed that Weaver was the best-qualified administrator. His assistant Bill Moyers had rated Weaver highly on potential effectiveness as the new secretary. 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 the United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
.
Weaver served as Secretary of United States Department of Housing and Urban Development from 1966 to 1968.[
Weaver had expressed his concerns about African Americans' housing issue before 1930 in his article, "Negroes Need Housing", published by the magazine '']The Crisis
''The Crisis'' is the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). It was founded in 1910 by W. E. B. Du Bois (editor), Oswald Garrison Villard, J. Max Barber, Charles Edward Russell, Kelly Mi ...
'' of the NAACP after the Stock Market Crash. 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.
Academia
In 1945, Weaver began teaching at Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
.[
In 1969, after serving under President Johnson, Weaver became president of Baruch College.][
In 1970, Weaver became a distinguished professor of Urban Affairs at ]Hunter College
Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admi ...
in New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
and taught there until 1978.[
]
Personal life and death
In 1935, Robert C. Weaver married Ella V. Haith.[ They ]adopted
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting of another, usually a child, from that person's biological or legal parent or parents. Legal adoptions permanently transfer all rights and responsibilities, along with filiation, from ...
a son, who died in 1962.
Weavers served on the boards of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company
MetLife, Inc. is the holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (MLIC), better known as MetLife, and its affiliates. MetLife is among the largest global providers of insurance, annuities, and employee benefit programs, wi ...
(1969–1978) and Bowery Savings Bank
The Bowery Savings Bank was a bank in New York City, chartered in May 1834. By 1980, it had over 35 branches in the New York metropolitan area. In 1992, it was sold to H. F. Ahmanson & Co. for $200 million.
The bank's first branch at 130 Bowe ...
(1969–1980).[ 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), the ]National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E. ...
(NAACP) Legal Defense Fund and NAACP executive board committee (1978–1997).[
Robert C. Weaver died at age 89 on July 17, 1997, in ]Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
.
Honors
Weaver received more than 30 honorary university degrees,[ as well as the following:
* 1962: NAACP ]Spingarn Medal
The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for an outstanding achievement by an African American. The award was created in 1914 by Joel Elias Spingarn
Joel Elias Spingarn (May ...
[
* 1963: Russworm Award][
* 1968:
** Albert Einstein Commemorative Award][
** Merrick Moore Spaulding Award][
* 1975: Public Service Award of the US ]General Accounting Office
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) is a legislative branch government agency that provides auditing, evaluative, and investigative services for the United States Congress. It is the supreme audit institution of the federal govern ...
[
* 1977: ]Frederick Douglass
Frederick Douglass (born Frederick Augustus Washington Bailey, February 1817 or 1818 – February 20, 1895) was an American social reformer, abolitionist, orator, writer, and statesman. After escaping from slavery in Maryland, he became ...
Award of the New York City Urban League[
* 1978: Schomberg Collection Award][
* 1985: Fellow, ]American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
* 1987: Equal Opportunity Day Award of the National Urban League[
]
Legacy
* 2000: ''Robert C. Weaver Federal Building
The Robert C. Weaver Federal Building is a 10-story office building in Washington, D.C., owned by the federal government of the United States. Completed in 1968, it serves as the headquarters of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Dev ...
'' HUD headquarters (which Weaver had dedicated in 1968)
* 2006: "Robert Clifton Weaver Way" NE in Washington, DC
* Undated: "Robert Weaver Avenue" "Robert Weaver Circle" in Austin, Texas
Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of Texas, as well as the county seat, seat and largest city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and Williamson County, Texas, Williamson co ...
Works
Weaver wrote a number of books regarding black issues and urban housing, including:
* ''Negro Labor: A National Problem'' (1946)
* ''The Negro Ghetto'' (1948)
* ''The Urban Complex: Human Values in Urban Life'' (1964)
* ''Dilemmas of Urban America'' (1965)
Herbert Aptheker
Herbert Aptheker (July 31, 1915 – March 17, 2003) was an American Marxist historian and political activist. He wrote more than 50 books, mostly in the fields of African-American history and general U.S. history, most notably, ''American Negro ...
reviewed ''The Negro Ghetto'' in the August 1948 issue of ''Masses and Mainstream
''Masses & Mainstream'', published from 1948 to 1963, was an American Marxist monthly publication. It resulted from a merger between ''New Masses'', which ceased publication in January 1948, and ''Mainstream'', a Communist cultural quarterly estab ...
'' (successor to the '' New Masses'' magazine).[
]
See also
* List of African-American United States Cabinet members
The Cabinet of the United States, which is the principal advisory body to the president of the United States, has had 25 permanent African-American members serving as vice president or head of one of the federal executive departments and ...
* J. Raymond Jones
John Raymond Jones (November 19, 1899 – June 9, 1991) was the last Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall, a New York City Councilman for Harlem, a district leader, ran the Carver Democratic Club, and was Adam Clayton Powell's campaign manager in 1958, ...
* Harlem Clubhouse The Gang of Four, also known as the Harlem Clubhouse, was an African-American political coalition from Harlem whose members later ascended to top political posts. It is named after the Gang of Four of China. J. Raymond Jones was influential in helpi ...
References
Further reading
*
* John C. Walker, ''The Harlem Fox: J. Raymond Jones
John Raymond Jones (November 19, 1899 – June 9, 1991) was the last Grand Sachem of Tammany Hall, a New York City Councilman for Harlem, a district leader, ran the Carver Democratic Club, and was Adam Clayton Powell's campaign manager in 1958, ...
at Tammany 1920–1970'', New York: State University New York Press, 1989.
Primary sources
"Weaver, Robert Clifton".
Infoplease
Speech by Robert Weaver given on April 8, 1969.
Audio recording fro
The University of Alabama's Emphasis Symposium on Contemporary Issues
President Johnson discussed Weaver's possible nomination as secretary of HUD with major leaders across the country:
* Telephone Conversation between President Johnson and Martin Luther King Jr., 15 January 1965, 12:06pm, Citation # 6736, Recordings of Telephone Conversations, Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
* Telephone Conversation between President Johnson and Richard Daley, 15 September 1965, 9:40am, Citation # 8870, Recordings of Telephone Conversations, Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
* Telephone Conversation between President Johnson and Richard Daley, 1 December 1965, 9:56am, Citation # 9301, Recordings of Telephone Conversations, Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
* Telephone Conversation between President Johnson and Roy Wilkins, 15 July 1965, 2:40pm, Citation # 8340, Recordings of Telephone Conversations, Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
* Telephone Conversation between President Johnson and Roy Wilkins, 1 November 1965, 10:11am, Citation # 9101, Recordings of Telephone Conversations, Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
* Telephone Conversation between President Johnson and Roy Wilkins, 4 November 1965, 10:50am, Citation # 9106, Recordings of Telephone Conversations, Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
* Telephone Conversation between President Johnson and Roy Wilkins, 5 January 1966, 4:55pm, Citation # 9430, Recordings of Telephone Conversations, Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
* Telephone Conversation between President Johnson and Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall (July 2, 1908 – January 24, 1993) was an American civil rights lawyer and jurist who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1967 until 1991. He was the Supreme Court's first African-A ...
, 3 January 1965, 10:15am, Citation # 9403, Recordings of Telephone Conversations, Lyndon B. Johnson Presidential Library
External links
*
, -
{{DEFAULTSORT:Weaver, Robert C.
20th-century American politicians
20th-century American economists
20th-century African-American people
African-American economists
United States Secretaries of Housing and Urban Development
African-American members of the Cabinet of the United States
Black Cabinet
Lyndon B. Johnson administration cabinet members
Kennedy administration personnel
Franklin D. Roosevelt administration personnel
Presidents of Baruch College
Hunter College faculty
Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni
Hunter College alumni
Spingarn Medal winners
Washington, D.C., Democrats
Dunbar High School (Washington, D.C.) alumni
1907 births
1997 deaths
New York University faculty