Keynote Address: The Politics of Fair Housing

Abstract

I appreciate very much those introductory comments by Drew Days. I have had the opportunity of associating with a good many persons in the federal government, and I can say that, of those that it has been my privilege to associate with, Drew Days stands out as one of the persons who came to Washington and rendered outstanding and courageous service. I can't begin to tell you how much it meant to those of us who were working in the civil rights field to have someone like Drew Days in the Department of Justice. And certainly as Chairman of the old U.S. Commission on Civil Rights as it is referred to these days-it meant a great deal to know that he was there, to have the opportunity to talk with him, confer with him, get advice from him, and to have his support for the kind of objectives that we were endeavoring to achieve. So when he called and invited me to come here to spend the evening with you, I was delighted to be in a position to accept that invitation.