Congressman John Conyers Jr First African American Dean of Congress

Spotlight on Congressman John Conyers Jr  First African American Dean of Congress

In January 2015, Congressman John Conyers Jr, officially became the first African American Dean of Congress. The retirement of U.S. Rep. John Dingell means  that John Conyers Jr. became the Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives after fending off a  primary challenge earlier in 2014.  Conyers,  the U.S. Representative for Michigan’s 13th congressional district, has served in Congress since 1965. Over the years the district has changed numbers and some territory due to the decennial US census and redistricting.  The district includes the western half of Detroit and nearby suburbs. John Conyers Jr. is considered to be a liberal Democrat. The retirement of Fellow Michigan colleague Dingell makes Conyers the longest-serving incumbent member of the House.  Conyers is one of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and is also the Dean of that group. The CBC was founded  in 1969 at a pivotal turning point in the Black Power movement  to strengthen African-American lawmakers’ ability to address the legislative concerns of African American and other citizens of color. John Conyers Jr. is also the longest serving African American member of Congress in American history. In 1971, he was one of the original members of Nixon’s Enemies List. Conyers hired  Rosa Parks, who served on his congressional staff from 1965 to 1988.  read more at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Conyers

John Conyers triumphs in Democratic primary – The Detroit News

Wed, 06 Aug 2014 02:57:35 GMT

The Detroit News

U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. handily won the 13th Congressional District’s Democratic primary  over challenger Horace Sheffield and  became the first African-American dean of Congress when he was sworn in during the month of January 2015. Conyers campaigned harder thanᅠ…Conyers holds off Sheffield, is poised to become dean of CongressHometownlife.comConyers: First Black Dean of CongressMichronicleonlineConyers poised to win 26th term, take over as “Dean of the House”Michigan Radioall 29 news articlesᅠ» Read more … In Detroit, the congressional dean passes his torch –

Washington Post (blog)

Fri, 08 Aug 2014 20:11:58 GMT

The longest-serving member of Congress was passing on the torch, with his wife Debbie formally nominated as the Democratic nominee to replace him in his left-leaning district and his colleague John Conyers eager to take on the role of “Dean of the House.and moreᅠ» Read more … John Conyers
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Joe Madison, “The Black Eagle” — Eagle’s Nest Studios, Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus Congressman John Conyers (D-MI) said President “Obama is not doing enough”.

 Slavery and Reparations 

Conyers introduced H.R. 40, the “Commission to Study Reparations Proposals for African Americans Act” in January 1989, and has re-introduced anew this bill each congressional term. This bill calls for the creation of a commission to research the history of slavery and its effects on current America, resulting in recommendations on how to remedy this injustice. Its current version was introduced and referred to committee, January 3rd 2013. A lecture series on the politics of the slavery reparations debate, featuring Roy Brooks, John McWhorter, William Darity (Brown Class of 1974), and Congressm…

 

 

Conyers and the House Judiciary Committee

In January 2007, United States Representative John Conyers Jr., a noted champion of civil rights and civil liberties, became the chair of the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee. The House Committee on the Judiciary jurisdiction includes the following areas: (1) the judiciary and judicial proceedings, civil and criminal; (2) civil liberties. (3) claims against the United States; (4) national penitentiaries and (5 ) revision and codification of the Statutes of the United States. Throughout his time in Congress, Ranking Member Conyers has been a strong champion for civil rights and civil liberties.  Some of his major legislative accomplishments include the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, the Motor Voter Bill of 1993, the Martin Luther King Holiday Act of 1983, the Alcohol Warning Label Act of 1988, and the Jazz Preservation Act of 1987.

Conyers, Nixon and Watergate

Conyers was critical of Richard Nixon during Nixon’s tenure, and, as a result, was number 13 on President Richard Nixon‘s enemies list during Nixon’s 1969–74 presidential tenure. The president’s Chief Counsel described him as “coming on fast”, and that he was “emerging” as a “black anti-Nixon spokesman”

Conyers voted on the Articles of Impeachment against Nixon in July 1974. He is the last remaining member of the House Judiciary Committee who did so, although another fellow Committee member, Democratic CongressmanCharles B. Rangel, of New York, is still in Congress.

 

References:

U.S. Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

Official web site for Representative John Conyers, Jr. (D – MI).

 John Conyers – Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

He has served longer in Congress than any other African American. …. to be said in 2009, and after the historic election of our first African-American president, …

In 1964, John Conyers won his first bid for a seat in the U.S. House of … He is one of the founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus, and is called the …

Biography – About – U.S. Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

Representative John Conyers, Jr., a Detroit Democrat, was re-elected to … also one of the 13 founding members of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and …

Reparations – Issues – U.S. Congressman John Conyers, Jr.

H.R. 40 has strong grass roots support within the African American … among Members of Congress who are not members of the Congressional Black Caucus.