[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1526-E1527]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




          IN TRIBUTE TO AND IN MEMORY OF DR. ROBERT C. WEAVER

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. ALCEE L. HASTINGS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                         Friday, July 25, 1997

  Mr. HASTINGS of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to 
a great American and civil rights pioneer who died last Thursday. Mr. 
Speaker, Robert C. Weaver, had a life of many firsts. The great-
grandson of a slave, and the son of a postal worker, Robert Weaver 
earned undergraduate, masters and doctoral degrees in economics from 
Harvard University. Dr. Weaver served as a college president, State 
rent administrator, this Nation's first Secretary for Housing and Urban 
Development--and first black member of any Cabinet--Presidential 
adviser, and chairman of the National Association for the Advancement 
of Colored People.
  Before the landmark decades of civil rights advances, Weaver was one 
of a small group of African-American officials in the New Deal era who, 
as part of the ``Black Cabinet,'' pressured President Franklin D. 
Roosevelt to strike down racial barriers in Government employment, 
housing, and education. Working for the U.S. Department of the 
Interior, and copious experience as an educator and economist led to 
Weaver's appointment as New York State rent administrator, making him 
the first African-American with a State cabinet rank.
  Through a host of government and private jobs, Weaver emerged as a 
preeminent candidate to head a national cabinet department. But when 
President John F. Kennedy sought congressional support to create the 
Housing and Urban Development Department in 1961, and named Weaver to 
head it, the President encountered strong southern opposition and the 
plan was shelved.
  From the time he became an aide to Interior Secretary, Harold Ickes 
in 1933, through his tenure at Housing and Urban Affairs in the late 
1960's, Dr. Weaver was a crusader for civil rights, housing, and 
education. He was regarded as an intellectual, both pragmatic and 
visionary, who worked to improve the lives of blacks and other 
Americans both by expanding their opportunities and by bettering their 
communities.
  After being a catalyst in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, 
Dr. Weaver turned to education in 1968. He taught at Hunter College, 
Carnegie-Mellon University, New York University, and even became 
president at Baruch College. He was honored for his hard work and 
dedication with at least 30 honorary degrees from elite institutions 
like Columbia University, the University of Michigan, and the 
University of Pennsylvania.
  Dr. Weaver was known as a man who was only interested in doing his 
job, rather than promoting himself. His lifelong toil got urban 
legislation on the books and nurtured our country's first commitment to 
improve the quality of life in our Nation's cities. All of us who 
believe we can build an even greater society, are forever indebted to 
him.
  Dr. Weaver served as a beacon of light, wisdom, and fairness. His 
appointments paved the path for numerous African-Americans and were 
monumental to many other African-Americans who found lower barriers and 
increased opportunity in the last third of the 20th

[[Page E1527]]

century. He will always be remembered as a distinguished public 
servant, having always used his keen intellect and common sense to 
attack complex social problems. For this, Mr. Speaker, the entire 
country will mourn Robert Weaver's passing, but we will also celebrate 
his extraordinary life.

                          ____________________