During this Women’s
History Month, the Honorable Marcia Louise
Fudge announced that she will be only the
second of President Biden’s original cabinet
members to resign from her position. Her last
day of work is March 22. Marcia Fudge has
spent decades in public service as mayor of
her hometown, Warrenton, Ohio, and
representative of Ohio’s 11th Congressional
District from 2008 through 2021. She also
served as President of Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority, Inc., the mighty and influential
Black women’s sorority (of which I am a
member) founded in 1913.
Fudge’s tenure as the
18th Secretary of the
Department of Housing and Urban Development
was marked by her passionate advocacy for the
unhoused. She worked to provide them with
direct housing assistance. Concerned about the
wealth gap and Black economic equity, she also
expanded home-ownership opportunities
and focused on eliminating discrimination in
housing. Acutely aware of climate change’s
challenges, she worked on building
climate-resilient communities.
Thanks to Fudge and
her team, the level of first-time
homeownership is the highest in two decades,
despite the challenges of high interest rates
and mortgages. Under her leadership, HUD has
also provided unprecedented resources for
tenant assistance and tenant education. HUD
worked on the Renter’s Bill of Rights and
increased funding for an Eviction Protection
Grant.
All in all, Fudge
has had an effective term as HUD Secretary.
Why is she leaving? She says she has done all
she can and wants to spend more time with her
family, especially her 92-year-old mother.
While she didn’t say it, I can see why this is
a good time to go. In this toxic political
environment, Congress would have difficulty
allowing President Biden to pass gas, much
less legislation. Until the 2024 election,
progressive legislative efforts are in limbo.
The Department of
Housing and Urban Development was created in
1965 to consolidate five government agencies:
the Federal Housing Administration, the Public
Housing Administration, The Federal National
Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), the Urban
Renewal Administration, and the Community
Facilities Association. HUD has made a
tremendous difference in Black lives, both
positively and negatively. Its redlining
policies excluded Black people from ownership
for decades, and more recently, its aggressive
focus on increasing homeownership has included
efforts to increase Black ownership.
Robert C. Weaver, a
Harvard-educated African American economist,
was the first HUD Secretary appointed by
President Lyndon B. Johnson. He was the first
African American appointed to a Cabinet
position. Patricia Roberts Harris was the
first African American woman to serve as a
Cabinet Secretary, as Secretary of HUD
(1977-1979), then as Secretary of the
Department of Health and Human Services
(1979-1981). There have been other notable
Secretaries of HUD; interestingly, a plurality
of them have been women or people of color,
including Carla Hills ((1975-88). Samuel
Pierce (1981-1989), Alphonso Jackson
(2004-2008), Julian Castro (2014-2017), and
Ben Carson (2017-2021). One of my faves was
Jack Kemp, a white man who “got” equity issues
and focused on ways to address them.
Only a few Black women
have served as Constitutional Cabinet
secretaries, as in those who are in the line
of succession for President based on the time
their department was established, according to
the Presidential Succession Act of 1947. With
that law, Secretary Fudge would have been 13th
in the line of succession to the Presidency,
after the Senate Majority Leader, House
Speaker, and other cabinet secretaries. Other
Black women have been in the line of
succession, including Hazel O’Leary
(1993-1997), the Secretary of Energy who ably
raised energy issues to African Americans,
Alexis Herman, the extraordinary Secretary of
Labor (1997-2001) whose “ride or die” advocacy
for workers also lifted national awareness of
her powerful sorority when the crimson and
cream showed out for her confirmation
hearings. Condoleeza Rice was Secretary of
State between 2005 and 2009, but a powerful
and forceful international player who lent
gravitas to the flawed Bush Administration. As
Attorney General, Loretta Lynch (2015-2017)
ran with the baton she picked up from Eric
Holder. She made it clear that she meant
business.
Only eight Black
women have had Constitutional cabinet
appointments to succeed the President. Each of
them, including Marcia Fudge, stands on the
shoulders of Patricia Robert Harris, who held
two cabinet positions. Our scarcity in these
positions speaks to our general sidelining in
the policy space. Things are better than they
once were - we only got the first Black woman
cabinet member in 1977. But our absence in
these policy positions is glaring.
Other Black women
have had “Cabinet Level” status, as conferred
by the President. They include Lisa Jackson,
who led the Environmental Protection Agency;
Susan Rice (2009-2013); Linda Thomas
Greenfield (2021-), Ambassadors to the United
Nations; and Sholanda Young (2022-) at the
Office of Management and Budget. While the
presence of Black women in these elite policy
roles is increasing, it is insufficient.
In this Women’s
History Month, we applaud Secretary Marica
Fudge for a job well done and mourn the
scarcity of Black women in the highest levels
of government. President Biden has done better
than most, but there is so much more to be
done!
