SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Then-Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee former Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) speaks during a hearing before the House Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee of the House Judiciary Committee June 21, 2007. Conyers died Sunday. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)
Former Rep. John Conyers, Who Served in Congress for 53 Years, Dies at 90
"He never once wavered in fighting for jobs, justice, and peace. We always knew where he stood on issues of equality and civil rights in the fight for the people."
Oct 27, 2019
Former Rep. John Conyers, whose 53 years in Congress were spent advocating for civil rights causes, died Sunday at 90.
"He never once wavered in fighting for jobs, justice and peace," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who was elected to Conyers' seat in 2018, said on Twitter. "We always knew where he stood on issues of equality and civil rights in the fight for the people."
Tlaib repeated the sentiment during a rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
\u201cAt Bernie Sanders rally in Detroit, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib calls for moment of silence following the death of former Rep. John Conyers.\n\n\u201cHe served us and fought for us for over 50 years.\u201d https://t.co/5ZpedSEoJ5\u201d— ABC News Politics (@ABC News Politics) 1572213443
Conyers began his decades in Congress in 1965 and served in the lower chamber until resigning in 2017 after a series of sexual harassment allegations were made public. The congressman denied the accusations.
"My legacy can't be compromised or diminished in any way by what we're going through now," Conyers told radio host Mildred Gaddis at the time. "This too shall pass."
His long career included founding the Congressional Black Caucus and serving as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from 2007 to 2011.
According to CNN:
In 1983, Conyers introduced the original bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday and in 1994 worked on the Violence against Women Act. He became the first African American to serve as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee in 2007.
"From co-founding the Congressional Black Caucus to leading the fight in Congress to enshrine Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday, John Conyers' impact on our city and nation will never be forgotten," Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement.
At the rally on Sunday evening with Tlaib, Sanders remembered Conyers.
"Thank you very much John, for all you've done for this country," said Sanders.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Former Rep. John Conyers, whose 53 years in Congress were spent advocating for civil rights causes, died Sunday at 90.
"He never once wavered in fighting for jobs, justice and peace," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who was elected to Conyers' seat in 2018, said on Twitter. "We always knew where he stood on issues of equality and civil rights in the fight for the people."
Tlaib repeated the sentiment during a rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
\u201cAt Bernie Sanders rally in Detroit, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib calls for moment of silence following the death of former Rep. John Conyers.\n\n\u201cHe served us and fought for us for over 50 years.\u201d https://t.co/5ZpedSEoJ5\u201d— ABC News Politics (@ABC News Politics) 1572213443
Conyers began his decades in Congress in 1965 and served in the lower chamber until resigning in 2017 after a series of sexual harassment allegations were made public. The congressman denied the accusations.
"My legacy can't be compromised or diminished in any way by what we're going through now," Conyers told radio host Mildred Gaddis at the time. "This too shall pass."
His long career included founding the Congressional Black Caucus and serving as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from 2007 to 2011.
According to CNN:
In 1983, Conyers introduced the original bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday and in 1994 worked on the Violence against Women Act. He became the first African American to serve as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee in 2007.
"From co-founding the Congressional Black Caucus to leading the fight in Congress to enshrine Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday, John Conyers' impact on our city and nation will never be forgotten," Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement.
At the rally on Sunday evening with Tlaib, Sanders remembered Conyers.
"Thank you very much John, for all you've done for this country," said Sanders.
Former Rep. John Conyers, whose 53 years in Congress were spent advocating for civil rights causes, died Sunday at 90.
"He never once wavered in fighting for jobs, justice and peace," Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), who was elected to Conyers' seat in 2018, said on Twitter. "We always knew where he stood on issues of equality and civil rights in the fight for the people."
Tlaib repeated the sentiment during a rally with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.).
\u201cAt Bernie Sanders rally in Detroit, Michigan Rep. Rashida Tlaib calls for moment of silence following the death of former Rep. John Conyers.\n\n\u201cHe served us and fought for us for over 50 years.\u201d https://t.co/5ZpedSEoJ5\u201d— ABC News Politics (@ABC News Politics) 1572213443
Conyers began his decades in Congress in 1965 and served in the lower chamber until resigning in 2017 after a series of sexual harassment allegations were made public. The congressman denied the accusations.
"My legacy can't be compromised or diminished in any way by what we're going through now," Conyers told radio host Mildred Gaddis at the time. "This too shall pass."
His long career included founding the Congressional Black Caucus and serving as the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee from 2007 to 2011.
According to CNN:
In 1983, Conyers introduced the original bill to make Martin Luther King Jr. Day a federal holiday and in 1994 worked on the Violence against Women Act. He became the first African American to serve as Chair of the House Judiciary Committee in 2007.
"From co-founding the Congressional Black Caucus to leading the fight in Congress to enshrine Martin Luther King's birthday as a national holiday, John Conyers' impact on our city and nation will never be forgotten," Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan said in a statement.
At the rally on Sunday evening with Tlaib, Sanders remembered Conyers.
"Thank you very much John, for all you've done for this country," said Sanders.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.