Home / Full timeline / In response to being accused of disregarding the opinions of Blacks, President Richard Nixon meets with the Black members of the U.S. House of Representatives to hear about the grievances of Black America. He then appoints five White House staff members to work on a list of recommendations.
In response to being accused of disregarding the opinions of Blacks, President Richard Nixon meets with the Black members of the U.S. House of Representatives to hear about the grievances of Black America. He then appoints five White House staff members to work on a list of recommendations.
1971 (Mar 25)
President Richard Nixon met with a group of Black members of the U.S. House of Representatives to receive a list of sixty grievances presented on behalf of Black Americans. The so-called Black Caucus asked for reforms in welfare, job discrimination and job placement, social justice, school desegregation, etc. The President appointed five White House staff members to work on the list of recommendations. The meeting, first proposed in 1969, was set up soon after the Black members of the House boycotted the President's State of the Union address in January. The group charged that the president's failure to meet with them up until that time constituted a flagrant disregard for the opinions of Black Americans.
References:
- • Hornsby, Alton. Chronology of African-American History: Significant Events and People from 1619 to the Present. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995.