Trump’s Untold Tales Of Kindness: In 1997, Trump Fought To Make Mar-A-Lago The First Club To Allow Blacks & Jews

In 1997, then-successful businessman and best-selling author Donald Trump launched a $100 million dollar lawsuit against the city of Palm Beach for imposing restrictions on him due to his insistence that blacks and Jews were allowed into his Mar-A-Lago club, despite no other Palm Beach clubs allowing them entry.

The old guard of Palm Beach was outraged that Trump was allowing Jews and blacks into his club and the local town council in Palm Beach even imposed restrictions on Trump’s bid to get his club approved.

Trump fought back and exposed the established private clubs in town that refused service to Jews and blacks and had his lawyers send every member of the town council copies of two famous movies about discrimination - “A Gentleman’s Agreement” and “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner.”

Trump ended up winning the lawsuit, resulting in the racist restrictions being lifted.

In 1997, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) President Abraham Foxman praised Trump’s major accomplishment, saying, “He put the light on Palm Beach. Not on the beauty and the glitter, but on its seamier side of discrimination. It has an impact.”

“Whether they love me or not, everyone agrees the greatest and most important place in Palm Beach is Mar-a-Lago. I took this ultimate place and made it incredible and opened it, essentially, to the people of Palm Beach. The fact that I owned it made it a lot easier to get along with the Palm Beach establishment,” Trump said in a 2015 interview.

Trump’s purchase of Mar-A-Lago is one of the best investments he’s made over his career. In 1985, Trump paid an estimated $10 million for the club. The club is now worth at least $350 million.

This article is part of an ongoing series recounting the untold stories from Donald Trump's life as a successful real estate developer, New Yorker, and presidential candidate where he went above and beyond for his fellow Americans.

Read the first "Trump's Untold Tales of Kindness" article titled, "In 2007, Trump Gifted $10K To The 'Hero Of Harlem' After He Saved Epileptic Student From NYC Train Tracks," which President Trump shared on his top-rated social media platform, Truth Social.

Read the second "Trump's Untold Tales of Kindness" article titled, "In 1966, A Young Trump Helped Create The ‘MLK Jr. International Freedom Games.'"

Read the third "Trump's Untold Tales of Kindness" article titled, "Trump’s Untold Acts Of Kindness: In 1986, Trump Was Awarded The Medal of Honor Alongside Rosa Parks And Muhammad Ali."

Read the fourth "Trump's Untold Tales of Kindness" article titled, "Trump’s Untold Tales Of Kindness: After Founder Died On 9/11, Trump Saved His Girls Basketball League ‘Slam Jam’ With Large Donation."

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