George Romney was an amazing man. I went through his archives at U of Michigan and saw the vile and racist letters white constituents sent him calling in him to violently suppress protests. His responses were to tell white voters *they* contributed to the riots.
Detroit’s uprising was the most costly and deadly in American history. Romney, a Republican at a time when the parties held both liberals and conservatives, called the suburbs a white noose (!) around Detroit. Think of the fortitude and balls it took to tell white voters that.
Romney fought for a fair housing law and, inexplicably, Nixon — who ran on the Southern Strategt of promising Southern and Northern white people he’d forestall integration — tapped Romney to head HUD.
Therein, Romney implemented a secret program to force white communities to integrate by withholding federal funds if they refused to build affordable housing. He was successful for a short while until white racists in Warren revolted and told Nixon.
Nixon told Romney to STOP enforcing the Fair Housing Act. Romney refuses and was forced out of the administration. Imagine if we saw that type of political courage today. The impact of the decision not to enforce FHA is one of the direct causes of the protests today.
If you want to read more, here’s the investigation I did several years ago: propublica.org/article/living…
*Addendum: I can’t speak to George Romney being an amazing man in general. I studied him in very particular time and looked at specific things. Should have been more clear with my language.
