Here's Why Donald Trump and His Father Were Sued by the DOJ in 1973 Over 'Racial Discrimination'

In October 1973, the U.S. Department of Justice took the unprecedented step of filing a federal lawsuit against Donald Trump, his father Fred Trump, and their company Trump Management Corporation for allegedly discriminating against Black renters. It was one of the most significant racial bias cases targeting a private landlord at the time. The suit alleged a systemic pattern of racial discrimination against Black applicants at dozens of Trump properties across Queens and Brooklyn.

The lawsuit was initiated after the New York City Human Rights Commission shared the findings with the federal government, based on tests conducted with undercover Black and White 'testers' seeking apartments at Trump buildings. It revealed clear evidence of Trump staff blatantly favoring white applicants, often denying rentals to Black candidates. Trump employees falsely claimed no units were available for Black applicants while Whites were informed otherwise. In one case, a Black man was told an open unit had just been rented even though the rental sign remained posted.

Former Trump employees also came forward to corroborate the allegations. One staffer stated they were instructed to code all apartment applicants by race, using 'C' for 'colored' on the application sheets, as per ABC News. Another admitted they were explicitly told not to rent apartments to Black tenants because the Trumps wanted to rent only to 'Jews and executives'. Sheila Morse, a White 'tester' hired by New York City to investigate Trump, vividly recounted first being rejected as a Black applicant, only to be warmly welcomed as a white applicant later at the same complex, as per NPR. Subsequently, when the Black man returned with a city official to confront the staff over the unequal treatment, the building superintendent admitted he was simply following orders passed down from the Trump Management to not allow Black renters. 

Michael Kranish, Washington Post reporter and co-author of Trump Revealed, noted it was "one of the most significant race bias cases" of its time, filed 'directly against' Trump and his father's company. Although Trump later tried to downplay the case's significance, claiming it was simply one of many federal housing discrimination lawsuits filed nationwide, as he said, "we, along with many, many other companies throughout the country — it was a federal lawsuit — were sued. We settled the suit with zero, with no admission of guilt." 

Although Kranish claims, "Trump fought the case for two years. ... He says it was very easy, but actually he fought the case for two years." After initially countersuing for $100 million in damages while denying any wrongdoing, the Trumps ultimately settled the federal case in 1975. As part of the consent decree, they were required to list vacancies with the Urban League, implement non-discriminatory policies, allow applications at a central office, and provide weekly reports on vacancies and rejected applicants.