[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 174 (Friday, November 1, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1394]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       HONORING THE LIFE AND SERVICE OF CONGRESSMAN JOHN CONYERS

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                          HON. TERRI A. SEWELL

                               of alabama

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, November 1, 2019

  Ms. SEWELL of Alabama. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 
extraordinary life and service of the late Rep. John Conyers, the 
longest serving African American in Congress, a founding member of the 
Congressional Black Caucus and the former Dean of the House.
  During his more than 50 years in the House of Representatives, Rep. 
Conyers built a reputation as a champion for civil, human and voting 
rights. He was relentless: Just four days after the Rev. Dr. Martin 
Luther King, Jr. was killed, Rep. Conyers introduced the first bill to 
create a federal holiday honoring him. Fifteen years later, he finally 
got it over the finish line when President Reagan signed it into law in 
1983.
  Rep. Conyers spent his life advocating for those who often did not 
have a seat at the table. He helped spearhead landmark reforms 
including the original passage and several extensions of the Voting 
Rights Act, as well as passage of the Violence Against Women Act of 
1994 and the Hate Crimes Act of 2009. In 2002, Rep. Conyers 
successfully pushed for the Help America Vote Act, legislation that 
made sweeping improvements to voting systems and voter access.
  On a personal note, Rep. Conyers also had ties to my hometown of 
Selma, Alabama, where he led a voter registration drive in February 
1965, just one month before the Bloody Sunday Selma to Montgomery 
march. Rep. Conyers was in his first year in Congress, but Dr. King 
said his ``very presence there has had an electric effect upon the 
voteless and beleaguered Negro citizens of this city, county, state and 
nation.''
  Rep. Conyers never waivered in his steadfast support of his beloved 
Detroit and those he served. May he rest in peace.

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