Former Rep. John Conyers Has Died [View all]

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Last edited Sun Oct 27, 2019, 05:19 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: BuzzFeed News

Former representative John Conyers, a civil rights icon whose decades-long career in Congress ended when he was accused of sexual harassment and abuse by multiple women, died on Sunday, a family spokesperson told BuzzFeed News.

Conyers, 90, represented a Detroit, Michigan, district from 1965 until his resignation in December 2017. At the time of his resignation he was the longest-serving member of the House of Representatives and the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee. He died in his sleep, his son told PBS News Hour.

Conyers was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus and renowned for his work supporting voter registration drives and providing legal representation for black voting rights activists during the civil rights movement. He was lauded by Martin Luther King Jr., was Rosa Parks's boss for more than 20 years after he hired her as an aide, and was named in former president Richard Nixon's "Enemies List." Conyers was the first black member of Congress to serve on the House Judiciary Committee. He would go on to be the first black chair of the committee in 2007.

Conyers, an attorney, cosponsored the original Voting Rights Act of 1965. And just days after King was assassinated in 1968, Conyers introduced a bill that would create a federal holiday in honor of King, years before Ronald Reagan would eventually sign it into law...

Read more: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/lissandravilla/former-rep-john-conyers-died

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Conyers



- Detroit Free Press, 'U.S. Rep. John Conyers, former dean of Congress, dies at the age of 90' Oct. 27, 2019

U.S. Rep. John Conyers, a civil rights icon whose five decades in Congress were tarnished in his final years in office, died Sunday of natural causes at the age of 90, according to several friends. His death come after a long and illustrious career that spanned more than 50 years and 27 terms in office, but ended in 2018 with a resignation amidst claims of sexual harassment and verbal abuse of employees and misuse of taxpayer funds to cover-up those claims.

Conyers' tenure was a remarkable 53-year-run during which the lawmaker, the son of a well-known labor lawyer in Detroit, compiled a near-record legacy of civil rights activism, longevity and advocacy for the poor and underprivileged. He died with the sixth-longest tenure in congressional history. "For a long time he was black America's congressman," said Sam Riddle, a longtime family friend and consultant to the Conyers family, who confirmed the death Sunday. "On the streets of Detroit, he'll be mourned."

Conyers was born in Detroit and graduated from Northwestern High School. After a tour of duty with the U.S. Army during the Korean War, Conyers returned home to earn bachelor's and law degrees from Wayne State University. His law practice and work in the auto plants in Detroit led him to the office of former U.S. Rep. John Dingell, D-Dearborn, where he worked as a legislative assistant for three years. But by 1964, at the age of 35, Conyers went after a seat of his own in Congress, winning the first of 27 general elections and serving portions of Detroit and some surrounding Wayne County suburbs for the next five decades.

He may not have had many bills that carried his name — only 26 of the 712 bills he introduced became law, according to the Library of Congress — but he fought for issues of civil rights and social justice, including seeking reparations for the descendants of African-American slaves, modifying the mandatory sentences for those convicted of non- violent drug crimes, defending assaults on the Voting Rights Act, reforming laws that put juvenile offenders in prison for life and calling for investigations into police brutality of African-American men.

And he was the key sponsor of the bill, introduced each session for 20 years, that designated the third Monday of January as a federal holiday in honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Conyers introduced the bill four days after King was assassinated in 1968, but it wasn’t signed into law until 1989. In the thick of the civil rights battles, Conyers walked alongside King and other leaders of the movement in Selma, Ala., to bring equal voting rights to blacks...more.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/us-rep-john-conyers-former-dean-of-congress-dies-at-the-age-of-90/ar-AAJqPu4?ocid=HPCOMMDHP15