John James Conyers Jr. (May 16, 1929October 27, 2019) was an American politician of the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
who served as a
U.S. representative from
Michigan from 1965 to 2017. The districts he represented always included part of western
Detroit. During his final three terms, his district included many of Detroit's western suburbs, as well as a large portion of the
Downriver area.
Conyers served more than fifty years in Congress, becoming the
sixth-longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history; he was the longest-serving African American member of Congress. Conyers was the
Dean of the House of Representatives
The dean of the United States House of Representatives is the longest continuously serving member of the House. The current dean is Hal Rogers, a Republican Party U.S. Representative from Kentucky, who has served in the House since 1981. The d ...
from 2015 to 2017, by virtue of him being the longest-serving member of Congress at the time. By the end of his last term, he was the last remaining member of Congress who had served since the
presidency of Lyndon B. Johnson
Lyndon B. Johnson's tenure as the 36th president of the United States began on November 22, 1963 following the assassination of President Kennedy and ended on January 20, 1969. He had been vice president for days when he succeeded to the pr ...
.
After serving in the
Korean War, Conyers became active in the
civil rights movement. He also served as an aide to Congressman
John Dingell before winning
election to the House in 1964. He co-founded the
Congressional Black Caucus in 1969 and established a reputation as one of the most
liberal members of Congress. Conyers joined the
Congressional Progressive Caucus after it was founded in 1991. Conyers supported creation of a
single-payer healthcare system and sponsored the
United States National Health Care Act
The Medicare for All Act, aka the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act or United States National Health Care Act, is a bill first introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Representative John Conyers (D-MI) in 2003, with ...
. He also sponsored a bill to establish
Martin Luther King Jr. Day as a federal holiday, and was the first congressperson to introduce
legislation in support of
reparations
Reparation(s) may refer to:
Christianity
* Restitution (theology), the Christian doctrine calling for reparation
* Acts of reparation, prayers for repairing the damages of sin
History
* War reparations
** World War I reparations, made from ...
for the descendants of
African-American slavery.
Conyers ran for
Mayor of Detroit in 1989 and 1993, but he was defeated in the primary each time.
Conyers served as the
ranking Democratic member on the
House Committee on the Judiciary from 1995 to 2007 and again 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. In the wake of allegations that he had sexually harassed female staff members and secretly used taxpayer money to settle a harassment claim, Conyers announced his resignation from Congress on December 5, 2017.
Early life, education, and early career
Conyers was born and raised in Detroit, the son of Lucille Janice (Simpson) and John James Conyers, a labor leader. Among his siblings was younger brother William Conyers. After graduating from
Northwestern High School, Conyers served in the
Michigan National Guard from 1948 to 1950; the
U.S. Army from 1950 to 1954; and the
U.S. Army Reserves
The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed Forces.
Since July 2020, ...
from 1954 to 1957. Conyers served for a year in Korea during the
Korean War as an officer in the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was awarded combat and merit citations.
After his active military service, Conyers pursued a college education. He earned both his
BA (1957) and
LL.B. (1958) degrees from
Wayne State University. After he was admitted to the bar, he worked on the staff of Congressman
John Dingell. He also served as counsel to several Detroit-area
labor union locals. From 1961 to 1963, he was a referee for Michigan's workmen's compensation department.
Conyers became one of the leaders of the civil rights movement. He was present in
Selma, Alabama
Selma is a city in and the county seat of Dallas County, in the Black Belt region of south central Alabama and extending to the west. Located on the banks of the Alabama River, the city has a population of 17,971 as of the 2020 census. About ...
, on October 7, 1963, for the voter registration drive known as Freedom Day.
U.S. House of Representatives
Elections
In 1964, Conyers ran for an open seat in what was then the 1st District, and defeated Republican Robert Blackwell with 84% of the vote. He was reelected 13 times with even larger margins. After the
1990 United States Census, Michigan lost a congressional district, and there was redistricting. Conyers's district was renumbered as the
14th district.
In 1992, Conyers won re-election to his 15th term in his new district, which included western suburbs of Detroit, with 82% of the vote against Republican nominee John Gordon. He won re-election another nine times after that. His worst re-election performance was in
2010
File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...
, when he got 77% of the vote against Republican nominee
Don Ukrainec
Elections were held on November 2, 2010, to determine Michigan's 15 members of the United States House of Representatives. Representatives were elected for two-year terms to serve in the 112th United States Congress from January 3, 2011, until ...
. In 2013, his district was renamed as the
13th district.
In total, Conyers won re-election twenty-five times and was serving in his twenty-sixth term. He was the
dean of the House as longest-serving current member, the
third longest-serving member of the House in history, and the
sixth longest-serving member of Congress in history. He was the second-longest serving member of either house of Congress in Michigan's history, trailing only his former boss, Dingell. He was also the last member of the large Democratic freshman class of 1964 who was still serving in the House.
In May 2014, Wayne County Clerk Cathy Garrett determined that Conyers had not submitted enough valid nominating petition signatures to appear on the August 2014 Primary Election ballot. Two of his workers circulating petitions were not themselves registered voters at the time, which was required under Michigan law. But on May 23, Federal District Judge Matthew Leitman issued an injunction placing Conyers back on the ballot, ruling that the requirement that circulators be registered voters was similar to an Ohio law which had been found unconstitutional in 2008 by a Federal appeals court. The Michigan Secretary of State's office subsequently announced they would not appeal the ruling.
Tenure
Conyers was one of the 13 founding members of the
Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and was considered the Dean of that group. Formed in 1969, the CBC was founded to strengthen African-American lawmakers' ability to address the legislative concerns of Black and minority citizens. He served longer in Congress than any other African American. In 1971, he was one of the original members of
Nixon's Enemies List.
In 1965, Conyers won a seat as a freshman on the influential
Judiciary Committee, which was then chaired by Democratic Congressman
Emanuel Celler of New York. The assignment was considered an elite one, as Judiciary ranked behind only
Ways and Means and
Appropriations in terms of the number of Members who sought assignment there.
According to the ''
National Journal
''National Journal'' is an advisory services company based in Washington, D.C., offering services in government affairs, advocacy communications, stakeholder mapping, and policy brands research for government and business leaders. It publishes da ...
'', Conyers has been considered, with
Pete Stark
Fortney Hillman Stark Jr. (November 11, 1931 – January 24, 2020), known as Pete Stark, was an American businessman and politician who was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1973 to 2013. A Democrat from California, St ...
,
John Lewis,
Jim McDermott, and
Barbara Lee, to be one of the most
liberal members of Congress for many years.
Rosa Parks, known for her prominent role in the
Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, moved to Detroit and served on Conyers's staff between 1965 and 1988.
Conyers was known to have opposed regulation of
online gambling. He opposed the
Unlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006. After the
assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr., an African-American clergyman and civil rights leader, was fatally shot at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968, at 6:01 p.m. CST. He was rushed to St. Joseph's Hospital, where he died at 7 ...
in 1968, Conyers introduced the first bill in Congress to make King's birthday a federal holiday.
He continued to propose legislation to establish the federal holiday in every session of Congress from 1968 to 1983, when
Martin Luther King Jr. Day was finally
signed into law by President
Ronald Reagan
Ronald Wilson Reagan ( ; February 6, 1911June 5, 2004) was an American politician, actor, and union leader who served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989. He also served as the 33rd governor of California from 1967 ...
.
In 1983 he joined with 7 other Congressional Representatives to sponsor a resolution to
impeach Ronald Reagan over his sudden and unexpected
invasion of Grenada
The United States invasion of Grenada began at dawn on 25 October 1983. The United States and a coalition of six Caribbean nations invaded the island nation of Grenada, north of Venezuela. Codenamed Operation Urgent Fury by the U.S. military, ...
.
[
Conyers introduced the "Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act" () in January 1989. He re-introduced this bill each congressional term. It calls for establishing a commission to research the history of slavery in the United States and its effects on current society, which is to recommend ways to remedy this injustice against African Americans. The current version was introduced and referred to committee on January 3, 2013. Conyers first introduced the proposed resolution in 1989, and has stated his intention to annually propose this act until it is approved and passed. Since 1997, the bill has been designated "H.R. 40", most recently, , alluding to the promise of " forty acres and a mule".] If passed, the commission would explore the longstanding effects of slavery on today's society, politics, and economy.
Nixon and Watergate
Conyers was critical of President Richard Nixon during his tenure. He was listed as number 13 on President Nixon's enemies list during the president's 1969–74 presidential tenure. The president's Chief Counsel described him as "coming on fast", and said he was "emerging" as a "black anti-Nixon spokesman". Conyers, who voted to impeach Nixon in July 1974, wrote at the time,
National Health Care Act
Conyers submitted the United States National Health Care Act
The Medicare for All Act, aka the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act or United States National Health Care Act, is a bill first introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Representative John Conyers (D-MI) in 2003, with ...
(Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act) (H.R. 676); as of 2015, it had 49 cosponsors. He introduced it with 25 cosponsors, in 2003, and reintroduced it each session since then. The act calls for the creation of a universal single-payer health care
Single-payer healthcare is a type of universal healthcare in which the costs of essential healthcare for all residents are covered by a single public system (hence "single-payer").
Single-payer systems may contract for healthcare services from p ...
system in the United States, in which the government would provide every resident health care free of charge. To eliminate disparate treatment between richer and poorer Americans, the Act would prohibit private insurers from covering any treatment or procedure already covered by the Act.
House impeachment manager in Hastings trial
Conyers was one of the House impeachment managers
An impeachment manager is a legislator appointed to serve as a prosecutor in an impeachment trial. They are also often called "House managers" or "House impeachment manager" when appointed from a legislative chamber that is called a "House of Repr ...
who prosecuted the in case the impeachment trial of Judge Alcee Hastings. Hastings was found guilty by the United States Senate and removed from his federal judgeship.
Downing Street memo
On May 5, 2005, Conyers and 88 other members of Congress wrote an open letter to the White House inquiring about the Downing Street memo
The Downing Street memo (or the Downing Street Minutes), sometimes described by critics of the Iraq War as the smoking gun memo, is the note of a 23 July 2002 secret meeting of senior British government, defence and intelligence figures discussi ...
. This was a leaked memorandum that revealed an apparent secret agreement between the U.S. and British governments to invade Iraq in 2002. '' The Times'', among the first to publish news of the leak, wrote that the discovered documented revealed the intentions of Bush and Blair
Blair is an English-language name of Scottish Gaelic origin. The surname is derived from any of the numerous places in Scotland called ''Blair'', derived from the Scottish Gaelic ''blàr'', meaning "plain", "meadow" or "field", frequently a “ba ...
to invade Iraq, along with revealing that the two had "discussed creating pretextual justifications for doing so."
The memo story broke in the United Kingdom, but did not receive much coverage in the United States. Conyers said: "This should not be allowed to fall down the memory hole during wall-to-wall coverage of the Michael Jackson trial and a runaway bride." Conyers and others reportedly considered sending a congressional investigation delegation to London.[Tony Allen-Mills and Tom Pattinson,]
Blair faces U.S. probe over secret Iraq invasion plan
, ''The Times'', May 22, 2005.
''What Went Wrong in Ohio''
In May 2005, Conyers released ''What Went Wrong in Ohio: The Conyers Report On The 2004 Presidential Election.'' This dealt with the voting irregularities
Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...
in the state of Ohio during the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election
The 2004 United States presidential election was the 55th quadrennial presidential election, held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. The Republican ticket of incumbent President George W. Bush and his running mate incumbent Vice President Dick Chene ...
. The evidence offered consists of statistical abnormalities in the differences between exit poll
An election exit poll is a poll of voters taken immediately after they have exited the polling stations. A similar poll conducted before actual voters have voted is called an entrance poll. Pollsters – usually private companies working for n ...
results and actual votes registered at those locations. The book also discusses reports of faulty electronic voting machines and the lack of credibility of those machines used to tally votes.
Conyers was one of 31 members of the House who voted not to count the 20 electoral votes from Ohio in the 2004 presidential election. The state was won by Republican President George Bush by 118,457 votes.
Constitution in Crisis
On August 4, 2006, Conyers released his report, ''The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retributions and Cover-ups in the Iraq War'', an edited collection of information intended to serve as evidence that the Bush Administration altered intelligence to justify the 2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...
.
''The Constitution in Crisis'' examines much of the evidence presented by the Bush Administration prior to the invasion and questions the credibility of their sources of intelligence. In addition, the document investigates conditions that led to the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib prison
Abu Ghraib prison ( ar, سجن أبو غريب, ''Sijn Abū Ghurayb'') was a prison complex in Abu Ghraib, Iraq, located west of Baghdad. Abu Ghraib prison was opened in the 1950s and served as a maximum-security prison with torture, weekly exe ...
in Iraq, as well as further evidence of torture having been committed but not made known to the public. Finally, the document reports on a series of "smear tactics" purportedly used by the administration in dealing with its political adversaries. The document calls for the censure of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney
Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He is currently the oldest living former U ...
. Conyers refused to back impeachment
Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements.
In ...
proceedings, however.
On anti-Muslim intolerance
Conyers proposed House Resolution 288, which condemns "religious intolerance" and emphasizes Islam
Islam (; ar, ۘالِإسلَام, , ) is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic Monotheism#Islam, monotheistic religion centred primarily around the Quran, a religious text considered by Muslims to be the direct word of God in Islam, God (or ...
as needing special protection from acts of violence and intolerance. It states that "it should never be official policy of the United States Government to disparage the Quran, Islam, or any religion in any way, shape, or form," and "calls upon local, State, and Federal authorities to work to prevent bias-motivated crimes and acts against all individuals, including those of the Islamic faith." The bill was referred to the House subcommittee on the Constitution in June 2005.
In 2005, Conyers introduced House Resolution 160, a house resolution that would have condemned the conduct of Narendra Modi, then the chief minister of the State of Gujarat in India. The resolution was cosponsored by Republican Representative Joseph R. Pitts (Republican of Pennsylvania). The resolution's title was: "Condemning the conduct of Chief Minister Narendra Modi for his actions to incite religious persecution and urging the United States to condemn all violations of religious freedom in India
Freedom of religion in India is a fundamental right guaranteed by Article 25-28 of the Constitution of India. Modern India came into existence in 1947 and the Indian constitution's preamble was amended in 1976 to state that India is a secular st ...
." The resolution cited a 2004 United States Commission on International Religious Freedom report on Modi stating that he was "widely accused of being reluctant to bring the perpetrators of the killings of Muslims and non-Hindus to justice". (See 2002 Gujarat riots
The 2002 Gujarat riots, also known as the 2002 Gujarat violence, was a three-day period of inter-communal violence in the western Indian state of Gujarat. The burning of a train in Godhra on 27 February 2002, which caused the deaths of 58 Hin ...
.) The resolution was not adopted.
Conyers v. Bush
In April 2006 Conyers, together with ten other senior congressmen, filed an action in the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division, challenging the constitutionality of the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The complaint alleged the bill was not afforded due consideration by the United States Congress before being signed by the President. The action was subsequently dismissed on grounds of lack of standing.
Ethics controversy
In April 2006, the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's office sent independent letters to the House Ethics Committee, saying two former aides of Conyers had alleged that Conyers used his staff to work on several local and state campaigns of other politiciansincluding his wifefor the Detroit City Council. (She won a seat in 2005.) He also forced them to baby-sit and chauffeur his children.
In late December 2006, Conyers "accepted responsibility" for violating House rules. A statement issued December 29, 2006, by the House Ethics Committee chairman Doc Hastings and Ranking Minority Member Howard Berman, said Conyers acknowledged what he characterized as a "lack of clarity" in his communications with staff members regarding their official duties and responsibilities, and accepted responsibility for his actions.
In deciding to drop the matter, Hastings and Berman said:
Copyright bill
Conyers repeatedly introduced the Fair Copyright in Research Works Act, a bill that would overturn the NIH Public Access Policy, an open-access mandate of the National Institutes of Health. Conyers's bill would forbid the government from mandating that federally funded research be made freely available to the public. The legislation was supported by the publishing industry, and opposed by groups such as the Electronic Frontier Foundation
The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is an international non-profit digital rights group based in San Francisco, California. The foundation was formed on 10 July 1990 by John Gilmore, John Perry Barlow and Mitch Kapor to promote Internet ci ...
. Writers Lawrence Lessig and Michael Eisen accused Conyers of being influenced by publishing houses, who have contributed significant money to his campaigns.
House Report on George W. Bush presidency and proposed inquiry
On January 13, 2009, the House Committee on the Judiciary, led by Conyers, released ''Reining in the Imperial Presidency: Lessons and Recommendations Relating to the Presidency of George W. Bush'', a 486-page report detailing alleged abuses of power that occurred during the Bush administration, and a comprehensive set of recommendations to prevent recurrence. Conyers introduced a bill to set up a "truth commission" panel to investigate alleged policy abuses of the Bush administration.
Bill reading controversy
In late July 2009, Conyers, commenting on the healthcare debate in the House
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
, stated: "I love these members, they get up and say, 'Read the bill'... What good is reading the bill if it's a thousand pages and you don't have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?" His remark brought criticism from government transparency advocates such as the Sunlight Foundation
The Sunlight Foundation was an American 501(c)(3) nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that advocated for open government. The organization was founded in April 2006 with the goal of increasing transparency and accountability in the United States ...
, which referred to readthebill.org in response.
Bribery conviction of wife
On June 16, 2009, the United States Attorney's Office said two Synagro Technologies representatives had named Monica Conyers as the recipient of bribes from the company totaling more than $6,000, paid to influence passage of a contract with the City of Detroit. The information was gathered during an FBI investigation into political corruption in the city.
She was given a pre-indictment letter, and offered a plea bargain
A plea bargain (also plea agreement or plea deal) is an agreement in criminal law proceedings, whereby the prosecutor provides a concession to the defendant in exchange for a plea of guilt or '' nolo contendere.'' This may mean that the defendan ...
deal in the case. On June 26, 2009, she was charged with conspiring to commit bribery. She pleaded guilty. On March 10, 2010, she was sentenced to 37 months in prison, and also received two years of supervised probation. She served slightly more than 27 months at the Alderson Federal Prison Camp. After supervised release, she was fully released from federal custody officially on May 16, 2013.
Response to accusations regarding American Muslim spies
In October, Conyers responded to allegations from four Republican Congress Members, in the wake of the launch of the book '' Muslim Mafia'', that the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) sought to plant Muslim "spies" in Capitol Hill
Capitol Hill, in addition to being a metonym for the United States Congress, is the largest historic residential neighborhood in Washington, D.C., stretching easterly in front of the United States Capitol along wide avenues. It is one of the ...
. He strongly opposed the accusations, saying:
WikiLeaks
At a December 16, 2010, hearing of the House Judiciary Committee
The U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, also called the House Judiciary Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives. It is charged with overseeing the administration of justice within the federal courts, a ...
on the subject of "the Espionage Act and the Legal and Constitutional Issues Raised by WikiLeaks", Conyers "argue strongly against prosecuting WikiLeaks in hasteor at all."[Elliott, Justin (December 16, 2010]
Top Dem sticks up for WikiLeaks
, '' Salon.com'' He strongly defended the whistleblowing organization, saying:
Conyers's statement was "in marked contrast to the repeated calls from other members of Congress and Obama administration
Barack Obama's tenure as the 44th president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 2009, and ended on January 20, 2017. A Democrat from Illinois, Obama took office following a decisive victory over Republican ...
officials to prosecute WikiLeaks head Julian Assange
Julian Paul Assange ( ; Hawkins; born 3 July 1971) is an Australian editor, publisher, and activist who founded WikiLeaks in 2006. WikiLeaks came to international attention in 2010 when it published a series of leaks provided by U.S. Army inte ...
immediately."
Criticism of American foreign policy
Conyers and his Republican colleague Ted Yoho offered bipartisan amendments to block the U.S. military training of Ukraine's Azov Battalion of the Ukrainian National Guard. Some members of the battalion are openly white supremacists. Conyers stated, "If there's one simple lesson we can take away from U.S. involvement in conflicts overseas, it's this: Beware of unintended consequences. As was made vividly clear with U.S. involvement in Afghanistan during the Soviet invasion decades ago, overzealous military assistance or the hyper-weaponization of conflicts can have destabilizing consequences and ultimately undercut our own national interests."
Conyers has also voiced concerns about sending anti-aircraft missiles Anti-aircraft missiles are guided missiles designed to destroy or damage aircraft. These include
* air-to-air missile, a missile fired from an aircraft for the purpose of destroying another aircraft
* subsurface-to-air missile, a missile usually la ...
to Syrian rebels
A number of states and armed groups have involved themselves in the ongoing Syrian Civil War as belligerents.
Syrian Arab Republic and allies
A number of sources have emphasized that as of at least late-2015/early-2016 the Syrian Arab Republic ...
.
Sexual harassment allegations and resignation
In 2015, a former employee of Conyers alleged that he had sexually harassed her and dismissed her. She filed an affidavit with the Congressional Office of Compliance. Conyers had entered into a confidentiality agreement with the former employee and had paid her a $27,000 settlement from his publicly-funded office budget in 2015. ''BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed, Inc. is an American Internet media, news and entertainment company with a focus on digital media. Based in New York City, BuzzFeed was founded in 2006 by Jonah Peretti and John S. Johnson III to focus on tracking viral content. Ken ...
'' reported on the allegations and settlement on November 20, 2017; ''Buzzfeed'' also reported allegations that Conyers "repeatedly made sexual advances to female staff," caressed female staffers' hands in a sexual manner, and rubbed their backs and legs in public.
On November 21, 2017, Conyers issued a statement in which he said, "In our country, we strive to honor this fundamental principle that all are entitled to due process. In this case, I expressly and vehemently denied the allegations made against me, and continue to do so. My office resolved the allegationswith an express denial of liabilityin order to save all involved from the rigors of protracted litigation."
Also on November 21, 2017, the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into multiple sexual harassment allegations against Conyers.
On November 22, 2017, '' The Washington Post'' reported that Melanie Sloan
Melanie Sloan (born December 16, 1965) is an attorney, former counsel for the House Judiciary Committee, and the former Executive Director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a nonprofit government ethics and accountability wa ...
, founder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) and nonpartisan U.S. government ethics and accountability watchdog organization.''Washington Information Directory 2017-2018''; CQ Press; 2017; Pg. 327 Founded ...
(CREW), publicly accused Conyers of having harassed and verbally abused her during her tenure working for the House Judiciary Committee. On one occasion, Sloan alleged that Conyers had summoned to his office, where she found him sitting in his underwear; she quickly departed.
Later in November 2017, there were reports that another woman accused Conyers of sexual harassment. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia Pelosi (; ; born March 26, 1940) is an American politician who has served as Speaker of the United States House of Representatives since 2019 and previously from 2007 to 2011. She has represented in the United States House of ...
, who had initially stated that Conyers was an "icon" and had done a great deal to protect women, called upon Conyers to resign. She said the allegations against him were "very credible".
On December 5, 2017, Conyers resigned his House seat because of his mounting sexual scandals. The announcement came the day after another former staffer released an affidavit accusing Conyers of sexual harassment. The same day, an article by ''The Washington Post'' published allegations by Courtney Morse that Conyers had threatened her with a similar fate to that of Chandra Levy, a staffer found murdered in a park in Washington, DC. She said that after she rejected his advances, he "said he had insider information on the case. I don't know if he meant it to be threatening, but I took it that way."
At a time when the #MeToo movement was pushing for action against men who harassed women, some media and supporters in Detroit believed Conyers had been unfairly treated. He was reported as the "first sitting politician to be ousted from office in the wake of the #MeToo movement."
Caucus memberships
* Founding Member and Dean of the Congressional Black Caucus
* American Sikh Congressional Caucus
* Congressional Progressive Caucus
* United States Congressional International Conservation Caucus
* Out of Afghanistan Caucus (Co-Chair)
* Congressional Full Employment Caucus
* Congressional Arts Caucus
* Afterschool Caucuses
* Congressional NextGen 9-1-1 Caucus
Political positions
According to ''The New Republic'', Conyers was a member of the Democratic Socialists of America in 1983.
Conyers supported legislation aimed at strengthening the U.S. civil justice system. In March 2016, Rep. Conyers and Representative Hank Johnson introduced legislation to protect consumers access to civil courts, titled the "Restoring Statutory Rights Act." This legislation would "ensure that the state, federal, and constitutional rights of Americans are enforceable" and consumers aren't forced into secretive private arbitration hearings.
Detroit mayoral campaigns
While serving in the U.S. House, Conyers made two unsuccessful runs for mayor of Detroit: one in 1989 against incumbent Coleman Young and again in 1993.
1989
Incumbent Democratic Mayor Coleman Young decided to run for a fifth term, despite growing unpopularity and the declining economy of Detroit. In the September primary, Young won with 51% of the vote. Accountant Tom Barrow qualified for the November run-off by having 24%, and Conyers received 18% of the vote. Despite the difficulties of the city, Young defeated Barrow in the run-off with 56% of the vote.
1993
In June 1993, incumbent Democratic Mayor Coleman Young decided to retire instead of seeking a sixth term, citing his age and health. Many observers believed he had decided not to test his growing unpopularity. In a '' Detroit News'' poll in February, 81% said Young should retire. Conyers was one of the 23 candidates who qualified for ballot access.
Dennis Archer was the front runner in the mayoral campaign from the beginning. The 51-year-old former State Supreme Court Justice raised over $1.6million to finance his campaign. He won the September primary with 54% of the vote. Conyers came in fourth place. Archer won the November election.
Electoral history
Personal life and death
Conyers married Monica Esters, a teacher in Detroit, in 1990. She was 25 and he was 61; they had two sons together, John James III and Carl Edward Conyers. She later served as a vice administrator of the public schools, and in 2005 was elected to the Detroit City Council. In September 2015, Monica Conyers filed for divorce, citing a "breakdown of the marriage". However, they reconciled in late 2016.
Conyers's grandnephew, Ian Conyers
Ian Kyle Conyers (born October 28, 1988) is an American politician who represented the 4th District of Michigan in the Michigan Senate for one term. He is a member of the Democratic Party.
Conyers sat on the Economic Development & International ...
, was elected to the Michigan Senate
The Michigan Senate is the upper house of the Michigan Legislature. Along with the Michigan House of Representatives, it composes the state legislature, which has powers, roles and duties defined by Article IV of the Michigan Constitution, ado ...
in 2016. He generated controversy by telling of Conyers's planned retirement in interviews before the Congressman announced it himself, and claiming his great-uncle's endorsement. Following the Congressman's resignation, Ian Conyers announced that he would run in the special election for the Congressman's seat. The Congressman instead endorsed his son, John Conyers III, as his successor. John Conyers III chose not to run. Ian Conyers was defeated in the Democratic primary by Rashida Tlaib.
Conyers died on October 27, 2019, at his home in Detroit. He was 90 years old. His funeral was held on November4 at Detroit's Greater Grace Temple.
Representation in other media
* Conyers frequently posted at '' Daily Kos'' and ''Democratic Underground
Democratic Underground is an online community for members of the United States Democratic Party
The Democratic Party is one of the Two-party system, two Major party, major contemporary political parties in the United States. Founded in 1 ...
''. Beginning May 2005, he had been a contributing blogger at '' The Huffington Post'' and on his own blog.
* John Conyers appeared in Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore (born April 23, 1954) is an American filmmaker, author and left-wing activist. His works frequently address the topics of globalization and capitalism.
Moore won the 2002 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for ' ...
's documentary ''Fahrenheit 9/11
''Fahrenheit 9/11'' is a 2004 American documentary film directed, written by, and starring filmmaker, director, political commentator and activist Michael Moore. The film takes a liberal, critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the w ...
,'' discussing the aftermath of the September 11 attacks. He said many members of Congress "don't read most of the bills", as they are very lengthy. They rely on staff to study them in detail.
Honors and awards
In 2007, he was awarded the Spingarn Medal
The Spingarn Medal is awarded annually by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) for an outstanding achievement by an African American. The award was created in 1914 by Joel Elias Spingarn
Joel Elias Spingarn (May ...
from the NAACP
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...
.
See also
* History of African Americans in Detroit
* List of African-American United States representatives
* List of Democratic Socialists of America who have held office in the United States
* PRO-IP Act The Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act of 2008 (PRO-IP Act of 2008, , , ) is a United States law that increases both civil and criminal penalties for trademark, patent and copyright infringement. The law also estab ...
* United States National Health Care Act
The Medicare for All Act, aka the Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act or United States National Health Care Act, is a bill first introduced in the United States House of Representatives by Representative John Conyers (D-MI) in 2003, with ...
Notes and references
External links
*
CD14
at Michigan Liberal
Michigan Liberal (MichiganLiberal.com) is a defunct American political blog, publishing news and opinion from a liberal or progressive point of view. It functions as a discussion forum and group blog for a variety of Michigan netroots activists, ...
John Conyers's oral history video excerpts
at The National Visionary Leadership Project
John Conyers Jr for Congress
Global Family Day
movement co-founded by John Conyers and Linda Grover
*
*
;Articles
Congressman John Conyers Jr., Salon.com (October 15, 2003)
Preserving Democracy: What Went Wrong in Ohio: Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff
(prepared at the request of Congressman John Conyers, January 5, 2005)
Open letter to George W. Bush, re: Downing Street Memo
(originally signed by 89 U.S. Congress members), John Conyers, et al. (May 5, 2005)
Bush asked to explain UK war memo
CNN (May 12, 2005)
The Downing Street Memo
John Conyers (May 27, 2005)
(John Conyers interview), ''BuzzFlash'' (June 9, 2005)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060705085701/http://www.house.gov/judiciary_democrats/iraqrept.html The Constitution in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War] (Investigative Status Report of the House Judiciary Committee Democratic Staff, December 2005)
A Motion for Censure
Congressman John Conyers Jr., '' The Nation'' (December 22, 2005)
Q & A with Conyers
''Guernica Magazine'', May 22, 2006
November 5, 2007
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Conyers, John James Jr.
1929 births
2019 deaths
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