Robert C. Weaver Totally Explained

Everything about Robert Clifton Weaver totally explained

Robert Clifton Weaver (December 29, 1907 – July 17, 1997) served as the first United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development (also known as HUD) from 1966 to 1968. Weaver was born in Washington, D.C., on December 29, 1907, and received a Ph.D from Harvard University in 1934. He married Ella V. Haith in 1935, and they'd one child. He was the first African-American to hold a cabinet-level(Presidential Cabinet) position in the United States.

HUD Secretary

In 1966, the Department of Housing and Urban Development was created, and President Lyndon B. Johnson chose Weaver to become the first secretary of the new department. In addition, Weaver also became the first black person to ever hold a cabinet post. Mr. Weaver was also a proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc
   President Kennedy had done everything short of promising the new position to Weaver while trying to create HUD in 1961. In normal legislation, Republicans and southern Democrats vehemently opposed the new department, and the following year, President Kennedy made another attempt by unsuccessfully using his reorganization authority to create it. As a result, Congress disallowed presidents from ever again using that authority to create a new department (it had been previously used to create the Department of Health, Education, and Welfare during the Eisenhower Administration). When the department's creation was finally approved in 1965, there was still a sense that Weaver would be the most desired nominee. In public, President Johnson had reiterated Weaver's status as a potential nominee but wouldn't 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.
   Both leaders felt that Weaver had problems bringing positive attention to himself, and Johnson also noted that he was susceptible to political mistakes. One week before the Department of HUD was being voted on, Weaver performed what Johnson referred to as "the biggest bonehead anyone ever pulled." While Administrator of HHFA, he passed a regulation that benefited the middle class, when the intent of HUD was to benefit the poor (over three-quarters of which were African American). To make matters more problematic, Weaver indicated to Joe Califano that if he wasn't accepted for the position, he'd resign, which in a public relations context would have made him a against the administration. Johnson had privately indicated that if Weaver weren't nominated, he may have promoted or transferred him elsewhere.
   President Johnson got into some heavy strategizing about other potential nominees, none of which were black. He wanted a top administrator but also someone who would bring excitement to the job. In discussions, he often said that a white nominee "could do more for the Negro than the Negro could do for himself." Johnson was also worried about how the new Secretary would interact with the Democratic South. His ideal qualifications came from people like Richard Daley and Laurence Rockefeller (although the former was most likely not seriously considered as a nominee). At one point, Johnson had thought of putting in Ben Heineman or Berl Bernhard as Undersecretary and letting Weaver phase out over a year or two.
   Ultimately, Johnson couldn't get over the fact that Weaver was the best qualified administrator. In a brief conversation on January 3, 1966, Thurgood Marshall recommended him saying, "He's one-hundred percent reliable." Two days later, Johnson's attitude completely changed when he received a report he'd asked Bill Moyers to write up on Weaver's potential effectiveness as the new Secretary.
   The report said that Weaver had accomplished the most strenuous and nearly-impossible tasks, that he created a genuine sense of team spirit, and that he was both more exciting and intellectual than he seemed. Johnson’s own take of the report showed him that Weaver had to live with the political disadvantages of being a liberal progressive African American for the past 25 years, which meant that to advance and succeed, he always had to be respectful, decent, put on a good appearance, and not be arrogant. Johnson misjudged these qualities as failing to be exciting. Ten days after receiving the report, Weaver was successfully confirmed by the Senate.

Later years

After leaving his cabinet post, Weaver became president of Baruch College in 1969, and the following year he became a professor of Urban Affairs at Hunter College in New York. He retired from that post in 1978.
Weaver died July 17, 1997, at the age of 89.
In 2000, the HUD headquarters building he'd dedicated in 1968 was renamed the Robert C. Weaver Federal Building in his honor.

Books by Robert Weaver

Weaver wrote a number of books regarding black 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)

Further Information

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