Housing Discrimination: DOJ Lawsuit Against Trump Management Corporation for Racial Discrimination

Overview

In October 1973, the U.S. Department of Justice filed one of its most significant housing discrimination cases of that era against Trump Management Corporation and its leadership — Fred Trump (chairman) and his son Donald Trump, then 27 and serving as president of the company. The complaint alleged systematic racial discrimination across 39 residential buildings in Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island.

The allegations were specific. Undercover testers employed by a civil rights organization found that Black applicants were told apartments were unavailable — then white testers for the same units were told apartments were available and shown the properties. Applications from minority applicants were allegedly coded so staff could identify and reject them. Black and Puerto Rican applicants were allegedly steered toward properties in predominantly minority neighborhoods rather than the buildings they sought.

Trump's Response

Rather than respond to the substance of the allegations, Trump hired attorney Roy Cohn — the notorious fixer who had been chief counsel to Senator Joseph McCarthy — and filed a $100 million countersuit alleging the Department of Justice was engaging in "reverse discrimination." The countersuit was dismissed.

Trump gave press interviews characterizing the suit as politically motivated and insisted the company had not discriminated against anyone.

Consent Decree and Alleged Violations

In June 1975, Trump Management signed a consent decree without admitting wrongdoing. The decree required the company to advertise vacancies in newspapers that served Black and Puerto Rican communities, hire a coordinator to facilitate equal access, and provide monthly reports to the Urban League of Greater New York.

Within two years, the Urban League reported that the company was violating the decree's requirements. The DOJ investigated but did not file a second suit.

Historical Significance

The 1973 lawsuit established an early documented record of racial discrimination as an operational practice at Trump's core business. Trump has consistently denied wrongdoing and characterized the settlement as equivalent to a clean record. The case resurfaced prominently during his 2016 presidential campaign, when civil rights advocates drew a direct line from the 1973 practices to his campaign rhetoric targeting minority communities.