United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 April 22, 1968 Mrs. Arlene I. Weitzman 245 East 24th Street New York, New York Dear Mrs. Weitzman: Thank you for your letter about the tragic death of Dr. Martin Luther King, and the need for civil rights legislation and effective action to alleviate the problems of extreme poverty and deprivation in the United States today. I appreciated your taking the time to write to me and let me know that you share my deep concern in the vital matter. I believe that the time for bold and imaginative action is now. We must not delay efforts to eliminate the deprivation and alienation of the ghetto, and must take steps to insure that Negro Americans, and other victims of poverty in the United States, have an adequate diet, improved education, opportunities for employment, and decent housing. We must act to break the vicious cycle of dependency and hopelessness in which too many of our fellow Americans are trapped, and all of us must make a greater commitment to the achievement of these goals. We can, of course, be encouraged by the passage of civil rights legislation. I was pleased to have your words of support for the Civil Rights bill recently passed by Congress and signed into law. As you may know, I supported cloture motions and the open housing provisions considered during Senate debate on the bill, and voted for final passage of H.R. 2516. I am sure you were pleased, as I was, that the House adopted these open housing provisions. This legislation will help, but Congress and private citizens must also take action to insure that other effective means to deal with these problems are developed and funded. You may know that I have introduced legislation to encourage private investment in housing and industrial development in urban areas. I believe that this is one of the steps we must take. I am glad to know that I shall have your support for programs which will help to make equality of opportunity a reality for all Americans. Again, my thanks and my best wishes to you. Sincerely, Robert F. Kennedy