City
Epaper

Longest-serving black US congressman dies

By IANS | Updated: October 28, 2019 14:10 IST

John Conyers, the longest-serving African-American member of the US Congress, has died, police said. He was 90.

Open in App

The Democrat resigned under a cloud of sexual harassment allegations in December 2017 after a career lasting nearly 53 years, reports the BBC.

In office, he was known for his liberal stance on civil rights and liberties.

He memorably fought for 15 years to make the birthday of Martin Luther King what it is today - a national holiday.

Conyers was also a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus.

Born on May 16, 1929, he grew up in Detroit and served in the military for nearly a decade, including 12 months in Korea during the war there (1950-53) when he was a Combat Engineers officer.

Going on to train as a lawyer, he became involved in the civil rights movement and in 1964, he narrowly won his first election in Michigan, becoming one of just six black members of the House of Representatives.

He was also the only House Judiciary Committee member to have sat in on two presidential impeachment hearings: for Richard Nixon in 1974 over Watergate, and for Bill Clinton in 1998 over his relationship with a female intern.

Meawnhile, fellow Democrats have paid tribute to Conyers, reports the BBC.

"His impact on our state, whether by spearheading reforms in criminal justice and voting rights in Congress or through his lifetime of civil rights activism, will not be forgotten," Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer said in a statement.

Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders tweeted to "celebrate" the late Congressman's "extraordinary service".

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: congressbbcHouse Of RepresentativesConyers
Open in App

Related Stories

NationalKerala: Congress MP Shashi Tharoor's Convoy Stopped, Staff Member Assaulted in Malappuram

NationalPunjab Congress Leader Khushbaz Jatan and Driver Killed, Cop Injured in Road Accident in Sonipat

NationalLal Singh, Veteran Punjab Congress Leader, Passes Away at 83

NationalTamil Nadu: Bottle Bombs Hurled at Congress leader P. Chidambaram and MP Karti Chidambaram’s Office in Subramaniapuram

InternationalPriyanka Gandhi Condemns Khamenei’s Killing as ‘Despicable’, Urges Global Leaders to Choose Peace Over War

International Realted Stories

InternationalEAM Jaishankar thanks Armenian FM for evacuation support for Indian fishermen in Iran

InternationalIndia thanks Armenia for helping evacuate citizens from Iran amid West Asia tensions

InternationalMinority leader demands probe into forced conversions in Pakistan

International"India solidly through global shocks": EAM Jaishankar calls to "hedge, de-risk, diversify" resources amid West Asia conflict

International"Free market playing out behind Iranian crude rerouting": Foreign affairs expert Robinder Sachdev says "UN at impasse"