John Conyers, Longest-Serving African-American Congress Member, Passes Away
Sunday, October 27, 2019
John Conyers, the longest-serving African American member of the U.S. Congress, passed away at the age of 90 on Sunday.
“Tonight, we celebrate John Conyers. He was a champion for civil rights and understood long before it was popular that healthcare is a human right. Thank you, John, for a life of extraordinary service,” wrote Bernie Sanders in a Tweet.
About Conyers
Conyers served as a Democratic U.S. Representative for Michigan from 1965 to 2017.
Conyers served more than 50 years in Congress, becoming the sixth-longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history.
By the end of his last term, Conyers was the only remains member of Congress who had served since the presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.
Conyers served as the ranking Democratic member on the House Committee on the Judiciary from 1995 to 2007 and from 2011 to 2017.
He served as chairman of that committee from 2007 to 2011 and as Chairman of the House Oversight Committee from 1989 to 1995.
Due to allegations that he sexually harassed female staff members and secretly used taxpayer money to settle a harassment claim, Conyers resigned on December 5, 2017.
Prior to Congress
Prior to his run as a U.S. Representative, Conyers served in the Korean War.
Following that, he became active in the civil rights movement.
He co-founded the Congressional Black Caucus in 1969 and sponsored a bill to establish Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday.
