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John Conyers

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This article is about the American politician. For other people with the same name, seeJohn Conyers (disambiguation).

John Conyers
44thDean of the United States House of Representatives
In office
January 3, 2015 – December 5, 2017
Preceded byJohn Dingell
Succeeded byDon Young
Member of the
U.S. House of Representatives
fromMichigan
In office
January 3, 1965 – December 5, 2017
Preceded byLucien Nedzi
Succeeded byBrenda Jones
Constituency1st district(1965–1993)
14th district(1993–2013)
13th district(2013–2017)
Ranking Member of theHouse Judiciary Committee
In office
January 3, 2011 – December 5, 2017
Preceded byLamar Smith
Succeeded byJerry Nadler
In office
January 3, 1995 – January 3, 2007
Preceded byHamilton Fish IV
Succeeded byLamar Smith
Chair of theHouse Judiciary Committee
In office
January 3, 2007 – January 3, 2011
Preceded byJim Sensenbrenner
Succeeded byLamar Smith
Chair of theHouse Oversight Committee
In office
January 3, 1989 – January 3, 1995
Preceded byJack Brooks
Succeeded byWilliam F. Clinger Jr.
Personal details
Born
John James Conyers Jr.

(1929-05-16)May 16, 1929
Detroit,Michigan, U.S.
DiedOctober 27, 2019(2019-10-27)(aged 90)
Detroit, Michigan, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Other political
affiliations		Democratic Socialists of America
Spouse
​
(m.1990)​
Children2
RelativesIan Conyers(grand-nephew)
EducationWayne State University(BA,LLB)
Signature
Military service
AllegianceUnited States
Branch/serviceUS Army
Years of service1948–1950
1950–1957
UnitArmy National Guard
Battles/warsKorean War
John Conyers's voice
John Conyers introduces an amendment to theY2K Act
Recorded May 12, 1999

John James Conyers Jr.[a](May 16, 1929 – October 27, 2019) was an American politician of theDemocratic Partywho served as aU.S. representativefromMichiganfrom 1965 to 2017. Conyers was thesixth-longest serving member of Congressand the longest-serving African American member of Congress in history.

After serving in theKorean War,Conyers became active in thecivil rights movement.He also served as an aide to CongressmanJohn Dingellbefore winningelection to the House in 1964.He co-founded theCongressional Black Caucusin 1969 and established a reputation as one of the mostleft-wingmembers of Congress. Conyers joined theCongressional Progressive Caucusafter it was founded in 1991. Conyers supported creation of asingle-payer healthcaresystem and sponsored theUnited States National Health Care Act.He also sponsored a bill to establishMartin Luther King Jr. Dayas a federal holiday, and was the first congressperson to introducelegislationin support ofreparationsfor the descendants ofAfrican Americanslavery.

Conyers ran forMayor of Detroitin 1989 and 1993, but he was defeated in the primary both times.

Conyers served as theranking Democratic memberon theHouse Committee on the Judiciaryfrom 1995 to 2007 and again from 2011 to 2017. He served as chairman of that committee from 2007 to 2011 and as chairman of theHouse Oversight Committeefrom 1989 to 1995. As the longest-serving current member of Congress, Conyers was thedean of the House of Representativesfrom 2015 to 2017. By November 2017, he was the last remaining member of Congress who had served since thepresidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.In the wake of allegations that he had sexually harassed female staff members and secretly used taxpayer money to settle a harassment claim, Conyers resigned from Congress on December 5, 2017.

Early life, education, and early career[edit]

Conyers was born and raised in Detroit, the son of Lucille Janice (Simpson) and John James Conyers, a labor leader.[1]Among his siblings was younger brother William Conyers. After graduating fromNorthwestern High School,Conyers served in theMichigan National Guardfrom 1948 to 1950; theU.S. Armyfrom 1950 to 1954; and theU.S. Army Reservesfrom 1954 to 1957. Conyers served for a year in Korea during theKorean Waras an officer in theU.S. Army Corps of Engineersand was awarded combat and merit citations.[2]

After his active military service, Conyers pursued a college education. He earned both hisBA(1957) andLL.B.(1958) degrees fromWayne State University.After he was admitted to the bar, he worked on the staff of CongressmanJohn Dingell.He also served as counsel to several Detroit-arealabor union locals.From 1961 to 1963, he was a referee for Michigan's workmen's compensation department.[3]

Conyers became one of the leaders of the civil rights movement. He was present inSelma, Alabama,on October 7, 1963, for the voter registration drive known as Freedom Day.[4]

U.S. House of Representatives[edit]

Elections[edit]

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.[5]He was reelected 13 times with even larger margins. After the1990 United States census,Michigan lost a congressional district, and there was redistricting. Conyers's district was renumbered as the14th district.[6]

Conyers's official portrait

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.[7]He won re-election another nine times after that. His worst re-election performance was in2010,when he got 77% of the vote against Republican nomineeDon Ukrainec.[8]In 2013, his district was renamed as the13th district.

In total, Conyers won re-election twenty-five times and was serving in his twenty-sixth term. He was thedean of the Houseas longest-serving current member, thethird longest-serving member of the House in history,and thesixth 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.[9]

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.[10]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.[11]The Michigan Secretary of State's office subsequently announced they would not appeal the ruling.[12]

Tenure[edit]

Conyers was one of the 13 founding members of theCongressional 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 ofNixon's Enemies List.[13]

In 1965, Conyers won a seat as a freshman on the influentialJudiciary Committee,which was then chaired by Democratic CongressmanEmanuel Cellerof New York. The assignment was considered an elite one, as Judiciary ranked behind onlyWays and MeansandAppropriationsin terms of the number of Members who sought assignment there.[14]

Conyers at the All People's Congress in Detroit, 1981
Conyers shaking hands with PresidentBill Clintonin 1993

According to theNational Journal,Conyers has been considered, withPete Stark,John Lewis,Jim McDermott,andBarbara Lee,to be one of the mostliberalmembers of Congress for many years.Rosa Parks,known for her prominent role in theMontgomery, Alabama bus boycott,moved to Detroit and served on Conyers's staff between 1965 and 1988.[15]

Conyers was known to have opposed regulation ofonline gambling.He opposed theUnlawful Internet Gambling Enforcement Act of 2006.[16]After theassassination of Martin Luther King Jr.in 1968, Conyers introduced the first bill in Congress to make King's birthday a federal holiday.[13]He continued to propose legislation to establish the federal holiday in every session of Congress from 1968 to 1983, whenMartin Luther King Jr. Daywas finallysigned into lawby PresidentRonald Reagan.[17]

In 1983 he joined with 7 other congressional representatives to sponsor a resolution toimpeach Ronald Reaganover his sudden and unexpectedinvasion of Grenada.[18]

According toThe New Republic,Conyers was a member of theDemocratic Socialists of Americain 1983.[19]

Conyers introduced the "Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African Americans Act" (H.R. 3745) in January 1989. He re-introduced this bill each congressional term. It calls for establishing a commission to research thehistoryofslavery in the United Statesand 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.[20][21]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,H.R. 40,alluding to the promise of "forty acres and a mule".[22]If passed, the commission would explore the longstanding effects of slavery on today's society, politics, and economy.

"My bill does four things: It acknowledges the fundamental injustice and inhumanity of slavery; It establishes a commission to study slavery, its subsequent racial and economic discrimination against freed slaves; It studies the impact of those forces on today's living African Americans; and the commission would then make recommendations to Congress on appropriate remedies to redress the harm inflicted on living African Americans."[23]

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. As the longest-serving current member of Congress, Conyers was the dean of the House of Representatives from 2015 to 2017.[citation needed]

In March 2016, Rep. Conyers and RepresentativeHank Johnsonintroduced legislation to protect consumers' access to civil courts. The bill was entitled the "Restoring Statutory Rights Act".[24][better source needed]

Conyers served more than 50 years in Congress, becoming thesixth-longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history;he was the longest-serving African American member of Congress.[25]By November 2017, Conyers was the last remaining member of Congress who had served since thepresidency of Lyndon B. Johnson.[26]

Nixon and Watergate[edit]

Conyers was critical of PresidentRichard Nixonduring his tenure. He was listed as number 13 on PresidentNixon's enemies listduring 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".[27][28]Conyers, who voted toimpeach Nixonin July 1974,[29]wrote at the time,

My analysis of the evidence clearly reveals an Administration so trapped by its own war policy and a desire to remain in office that it entered into an almost unending series of plans for spying, burglary and wiretapping, inside this country and against its own citizens, and without precedent in American history.[30]

National Health Care Act[edit]

Conyers submitted theUnited States National Health Care Act(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,[31]and reintroduced it each session since then. The act calls for the creation of a universalsingle-payer health caresystem 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.[32]

House impeachment manager in Hastings trial[edit]

Conyers was one of theHouse impeachment managerswho prosecuted the in case theimpeachment trialof JudgeAlcee Hastings.Hastings was found guilty by theUnited States Senateand removed from his federal judgeship.[33]

Downing Street memo[edit]

On May 5, 2005, Conyers and 88 other members of Congress wrote an open letter to the White House inquiring about theDowning Street memo.This was a leaked memorandum that revealed an apparent secret agreement between the Bush administration and theSecond Blair ministrytoinvade Iraqin 2002.The Times,among the first to publish news of the leak, wrote that the discovered documented revealed the intentions of Bush andBlairto invade Iraq, along with revealing that the two had "discussed creating pretextual justifications for doing so."[34]

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 theMichael Jackson trialand arunaway bride."[35]Conyers and others reportedly considered sending a congressional investigation delegation to London.[34]

What Went Wrong in Ohio[edit]

In May 2005, Conyers releasedWhat Went Wrong in Ohio: The Conyers Report On The 2004 Presidential Election.This dealt with thevoting irregularitiesin the state ofOhioduring the2004 U.S. presidential election.The evidence offered consists of statistical abnormalities in the differences betweenexit pollresults and actual votes registered at those locations. The book also discusses reports of faultyelectronic votingmachines and the lack of credibility of those machines used to tally votes.[36]

Conyers was one of 31 members of the House who voted not to count the 20electoral votesfromOhioin the2004 presidential election.[37]The state was won by Republican President George Bush by 118,457 votes.[38]

Constitution in Crisis[edit]

See also:Lead-up to the Iraq WarandLegitimacy of the 2003 invasion of Iraq
Conyers at ananti-war marchin Newark, New Jersey, in 2007

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 theBush administrationalteredintelligenceto justify the2003 invasion of Iraq.[39]

The Constitution in Crisisexamines 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 thetorture scandalatAbu Ghraib prisonin Iraq, as well as further evidence oftorturehaving 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 thecensureof PresidentGeorge W. Bushand Vice PresidentDick Cheney.Conyers refused to backimpeachmentproceedings, however.[40]

On anti-Muslim intolerance[edit]

Conyers proposed House Resolution 288, which condemns "religious intolerance" and emphasizesIslamas 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 theQuran,Islam, or any religion in any way, shape, or form, "and" calls upon local, State, and Federal authorities to work to preventbias-motivated crimesand acts against all individuals, including those of the Islamic faith. "The bill was referred to the House subcommittee on the Constitution in June 2005.[41]

In 2005, Conyers introduced House Resolution 160, a house resolution that would have condemned the conduct ofNarendra Modi,then thechief ministerof theState of Gujaratin India. The resolution was cosponsored by Republican RepresentativeJoseph 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 ofreligious freedom in India."The resolution cited a 2004United States Commission on International Religious Freedomreport 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". (See2002 Gujarat riots.) The resolution was not adopted.[42]

Conyers v. Bush[edit]

Main article:Conyers v. Bush

In April 2006 Conyers, together with ten other seniorcongressmen,filed an action in theU.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Michigan, Southern Division,challenging the constitutionality of theDeficit Reduction Act of 2005.The complaint alleged thebillwas not afforded due consideration by theUnited States Congressbefore being signed by the President.[43]The action was subsequently dismissed on grounds of lack ofstanding.[44]

Ethics controversy[edit]

In April 2006, theFBIand the U.S. Attorney's office sent independent letters to theHouse 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 politicians – includinghis wife– for theDetroit City Council.(She won a seat in 2005.) He also forced them to baby-sit and chauffeur his children.[45][46]

In late December 2006, Conyers "accepted responsibility" for violating House rules. A statement issued December 29, 2006, by the House Ethics Committee chairmanDoc Hastingsand Ranking Minority MemberHoward 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.[47]

In deciding to drop the matter, Hastings and Berman said:

After reviewing the information gathered during the inquiry, and in light of Representative Conyers's cooperation with the inquiry, we have concluded that this matter should be resolved through the issuance of this public statement and the agreement by Representative Conyers to take a number of additional, significant steps to ensure that his office complies with all rules and standards regarding campaign and personal work by congressional staff.[47]

Copyright bill[edit]

Conyers repeatedly introduced theFair Copyright in Research Works Act,a bill that would overturn theNIH Public Access Policy,anopen-access mandateof theNational Institutes of Health.Conyers's bill would forbid the government from mandating that federally funded research be made freely available to the public.[48]The legislation was supported by the publishing industry,[49]and opposed by groups such as theElectronic Frontier Foundation.[50]WritersLawrence LessigandMichael Eisenaccused Conyers of being influenced by publishing houses, who have contributed significant money to his campaigns.[51]

House Report on George W. Bush presidency and proposed inquiry[edit]

On January 13, 2009, the House Committee on the Judiciary, led by Conyers, releasedReining 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 theBush 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.[52][53]

Bill reading controversy[edit]

In late July 2009, Conyers, commenting on thehealthcare debatein theHouse,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 fromgovernment transparencyadvocates such as theSunlight Foundation,which referred to readthebill.org[54]in response.[55]

Response to accusations regarding American Muslim spies[edit]

In October, Conyers responded to allegations from four Republican Congress Members, in the wake of the launch of the bookMuslim Mafia,that theCouncil on American-Islamic Relations(CAIR) sought to plant Muslim "spies" inCapitol Hill.He strongly opposed the accusations, saying:

It shouldn't need to be said in 2009, and after the historic election of our first African-American president, but let me remind all my colleagues that patriotic Americans of all races, religions, and beliefs have the right – and the responsibility – to participate in our political process, including by volunteering to work in Congressional offices. Numerous Muslim-American interns have served the House ably and they deserve our appreciation and respect, not attacks on their character or patriotism.[56]

WikiLeaks[edit]

At a December 16, 2010, hearing of theHouse Judiciary Committeeon the subject of "theEspionage Actand the Legal andConstitutionalIssues Raised byWikiLeaks",[57]Conyers "argue[d] strongly against prosecuting WikiLeaks in haste – or at all."[58]He strongly defended thewhistleblowingorganization, saying:

As an initial matter, there is no doubt that WikiLeaks is very unpopular right now. Many feel that the WikiLeaks publication was offensive. But being unpopular is not a crime, and publishing offensive information is not either. And the repeated calls from politicians, journalists, and other so-called experts crying out for criminal prosecutions or other extreme measures make me very uncomfortable. Indeed, when everyone inthis townis joined together calling for someone's head, that is it a pretty strong sign we need to slow down and take a closer look.... [L]et us not be hasty, and let us not legislate in a climate of fear or prejudice. For, in such an atmosphere, it is ourconstitutionalfreedoms and our cherishedcivil rightsthat are the first to be sacrificed in the false service of ournational security.[58]

Conyers's statement was "in marked contrast to the repeated calls from other members ofCongressandObama administrationofficials to prosecute WikiLeaks headJulian Assangeimmediately. "[58]

Foreign policy[edit]

In 2014, Conyers, along withTed Yoho,introduced a bipartisan amendment to theNational Defense Authorization Actwhich would prohibit theUnited States Armed Forcesfrom providing any form of assistance to theAzov Battalion,aNational Guard of Ukraineunit accused by Conyers of being a "far-rightwhite supremacistmilitia ". The amendment was subsequently passed by the House of Representatives in 2015. Conyers' decision to introduce the amendment was the subject of both praise and criticism, with detractors noting that claiming that large numbers ofNeo-Nazisare members of the Azov Battalion is a common theme ofpropaganda in Russia.[59][60]

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 inAfghanistanduringthe Soviet invasiondecades ago, overzealous military assistance or the hyper-weaponization of conflicts can have destabilizing consequences and ultimately undercut our own national interests. "[61]He also voiced concerns about sendinganti-aircraft missilestoSyrian rebels.[62]

Sexual harassment allegations and resignation[edit]

See also:2017 United States political sexual scandals

In 2015, a former employee of Conyers alleged that he had sexually harassed her and dismissed her. She filed an affidavit with theCongressional Office of Compliance.[63]Conyers had entered into a confidentiality agreement with the former employee and had paid her a $27,000 (~$33,936 in 2023) settlement from his publicly funded office budget in 2015.[64]BuzzFeedreported on the allegations and settlement on November 20, 2017;Buzzfeedalso 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.[65][66][67]

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 allegations – with an express denial of liability – in order to save all involved from the rigors of protracted litigation."[68]

Also on November 21, 2017, the House Ethics Committee launched an investigation into multiple sexual harassment allegations against Conyers.[69]

On November 22, 2017,The Washington Postreported thatMelanie Sloan,founder ofCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington(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.[70]

Later in November 2017, there were reports that another woman accused Conyers of sexual harassment.[71]House Minority LeaderNancy Pelosi,who had initially stated that Conyers was an "icon" and had done a great deal to protect women,[72]called upon Conyers to resign. She said the allegations against him were "very credible".[73]

On December 5, 2017, Conyers resigned his House seat because of his mounting sexual scandals.[74]The announcement came the day after another former staffer released an affidavit accusing Conyers of sexual harassment.[75]The same day, an article byThe Washington Postpublished allegations by Courtney Morse that Conyers had threatened her with a similar fate to that ofChandra 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."[76]

At a time when theMeToo movementwas pushing for action against men who harassed women, some media and supporters in Detroit believed Conyers had been unfairly treated.[77]He was reported as the "first sitting politician to be ousted from office in the wake of the #MeToo movement."[78]

Caucus memberships[edit]

Conyers, (standing, second from right) with fellow founding members of theCongressional Black Caucusin 1971

Detroit mayoral campaigns[edit]

While serving in the U.S. House, Conyers made two unsuccessful runs formayor of Detroit:one in 1989 against incumbentColeman Youngand again in 1993.[88]

1989[edit]

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.[89]Despite the difficulties of the city, Young defeated Barrow in the run-off with 56% of the vote.[90]

1993[edit]

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 aDetroit Newspoll in February, 81% said Young should retire.[91]Conyers was one of the 23 candidates who qualified for ballot access.[92]

Dennis Archerwas the front runner in the mayoral campaign from the beginning. The 51-year-old formerState Supreme Court Justiceraised over $1.6million to finance his campaign. He won the September primary with 54% of the vote. Conyers came in fourth place.[93]Archer won the November election.

Electoral history[edit]

Main article:Electoral history of John Conyers

Personal life[edit]

Conyers marriedMonica 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.[94]Monica Conyers served as vice administrator of Detroit's public schools, and in 2005 was elected to the Detroit City Council.[citation needed]Monica Conyers pleaded guilty to bribery charges on June 26, 2009[95]and served slightly more than 27 months in prison;[96]her sentence was completed on May 16, 2013.[97]In September 2015, Monica Conyers filed for divorce, citing a "breakdown of the marriage".[98]However, the Conyerses reconciled in late 2016.[99]

Conyers's grandnephew,Ian Conyers,was elected to theMichigan Senatein 2016.[100]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.[101]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.[102]John Conyers III chose not to run. Ian Conyers was defeated in the Democratic primary byRashida Tlaib.[103]

Death[edit]

Conyers died at his home in Detroit on October 27, 2019, at the age of 90.[104]His funeral was held on November4 at Detroit's Greater Grace Temple.[105]

Honors and awards[edit]

In 2007, Conyers was awarded theSpingarn Medalfrom theNAACP.[106][better source needed]

See also[edit]

Notes and references[edit]

  1. ^Possessive (Conyers's), plural (Conyerses), and plural possessive (Conyerses') all have three syllables.
  1. ^"Conyers, John, Jr. 1929–2019".history.house.gov.RetrievedJuly 29,2022.
  2. ^"One of Michigan's finest, John Conyers!".African American Registry. Archived fromthe originalon June 14, 2015.RetrievedMay 17,2017.
  3. ^"John Conyers' Life at a Glance".The New York Times.Associated Press. May 16, 1929.RetrievedOctober 27,2019.
  4. ^Zinn, Howard(1994).You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train.Beacon Press. pp.63–64.ISBN978-0807070581.
  5. ^"Former Congressman John Conyers passes away".FOX 2 Detroit. October 1, 2006.RetrievedOctober 27,2019.
  6. ^"24 Mar 1992, Page 11".Detroit Free Press.March 24, 1992.RetrievedOctober 27,2019– via Newspapers.
  7. ^"5 Nov 1992, Page 20".Detroit Free Press.November 5, 1992.RetrievedOctober 27,2019– via Newspapers.
  8. ^"3 Nov 2010, Page 7".Battle Creek Enquirer.November 3, 2010.RetrievedOctober 27,2019– via Newspapers.
  9. ^"John Conyers, longest-serving black member of Congress in history, dies".Detroitnews. n.d.RetrievedOctober 27,2019.
  10. ^"Invalid petitions could keep U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr. of Detroit off Aug. 5 primary ballot".Mlive. May 2, 2014.RetrievedMay 9,2014.
  11. ^"Judge Allows US Rep. Conyers to Be on Ballot".ABC News.May 23, 2014.RetrievedMay 23,2014.
  12. ^"Michigan Secretary of State won't appeal ruling putting John Conyers back on the ballot".Detroit Free Press.May 30, 2014. Archived fromthe originalon September 24, 2015.RetrievedMay 30,2014.
  13. ^abET (December 5, 2017)."Timeline: Career of U.S. Rep. John Conyers Jr".Detroitnews.RetrievedOctober 27,2019.
  14. ^"Keeping the Faith: African Americans Return to Congress, 1929–1970"(PDF).Black Americans in Congress.US House of Representatives.Archived fromthe original(PDF)on January 18, 2012.RetrievedNovember 4,2011.
  15. ^John Nichols (November 2, 2005)."John Conyers and Rosa Parks".The Nation.Archived fromthe originalon November 13, 2019.RetrievedOctober 27,2019.
  16. ^"U.S. lawmaker raps Internet-gambling enforcement".Reuters.November 14, 2007.
  17. ^Crawford-Tichawonna, Nicole (January 12, 2018)."Years of persistence led to holiday honoring King".USA Today.No. January 12, 2018.RetrievedMarch 29,2020.
  18. ^ John Nichols (2016)."The Genius of Impeachment: The Founders' Cure for Royalism".The New Press.ISBN978-1595587350.RetrievedJanuary 23,2021.
  19. ^Margolis, Jon (March 14, 1983)."Bernie of Burlington".The New Republic.RetrievedSeptember 21,2018.
  20. ^"Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives – Current Vacancies".Archived fromthe originalon August 29, 2015.RetrievedAugust 15,2015.
  21. ^"Commission to Study Reparation Proposals for African-Americans Act (2013; 113th Congress H.R. 40)".GovTrack.us.n.d.RetrievedMay 17,2017.
  22. ^Miller, Melinda C. (June 26, 2019).""The Righteous and Reasonable Ambition to Become a Landholder": Land and Racial Inequality in the Postbellum South ".The Review of Economics and Statistics.102(2): 381–394.doi:10.1162/rest_a_00842.ISSN0034-6535.S2CID195656011.
  23. ^Conyers, John."Reparations".Conyers.house.gov.Archived fromthe originalon August 29, 2015.RetrievedOctober 24,2014.
  24. ^"Conyers and Johnson Introduce Legislation to Equalize Women's Pay, End Forced Arbitration"(Press release). April 12, 2016. Archived fromthe originalon December 6, 2017.RetrievedDecember 5,2017.
  25. ^Kathleen Gray,"U.S. Rep. John Conyers leaves behind legacy of civil rights, racial justice",Detroit Free Press(December 5, 2017).
  26. ^"John Conyers: Veteran congressman gives up post amid harassment inquiry".BBC News.November 26, 2017.
  27. ^"Nixon's Enemies List Search Results".enemieslist.info.
  28. ^Ratnesar, Romesh (September 28, 1998)."Is The Top Democratic Gun Ready For War?".Time.RetrievedOctober 28,2019.
  29. ^James M. Naughton (July 30, 1974)."New Accusation".The New York Times.RetrievedOctober 27,2019.
  30. ^Conyers, John(October 1974). "Why Nixon Should Have Been Impeached".The Black Scholar.6(2). Taylor & Francis: 2–8.JSTOR41065758.
  31. ^H.R. 676
  32. ^"What Rep. John Conyers's sweeping single-payer health care bill would actually do".Vox. August 28, 2017.RetrievedOctober 27,2019.
  33. ^"List of Individuals Impeached by the House of Representatives".United States House of Representatives.Archivedfrom the original on December 18, 2019.RetrievedJanuary 15,2020.
  34. ^abTony Allen-Mills and Tom Pattinson, "Blair faces U.S. probe over secret Iraq invasion plan",The Times,May 22, 2005.
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  41. ^"H. Res. 288 – 109th Congress (2005–2006): Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives condemning bigotry and religious intolerance, and recognizing that holy books of every religion should be treated with dignity and respect. | Congress.gov | Library of Congress".Thomas.loc.gov. May 19, 2005. Archived fromthe originalon February 9, 2016.RetrievedOctober 27,2019.
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  43. ^The DRA One Year Later: Dems Waiting for Outcome of Legal Challenges to Law That Stiffens Medicaid Transfer PenaltiesArchivedSeptember 27, 2007, at theWayback MachinefromElderLawAnswers,February 10, 2007
  44. ^"Judge Dismisses Budget Bill Lawsuit".ABC News.Associated Press. November 6, 2006. Archived fromthe originalon February 3, 2009.RetrievedNovember 28,2006.
  45. ^"Congressman accused of using staff to baby-sit".CNN. April 12, 2006.RetrievedMay 6,2010.
  46. ^"Civilian Employee Held Hostage at Baltimore Police Station; Moussaoui Testifies; 9/11: Delayed Death; Congressional Baby Sitter".CNN.April 13, 2006.RetrievedJanuary 14,2019.When it came to Conyers, staff members said doing errands and babysitting were only the half of it. Conyers, they told CNN, regularly used his congressional staff to work on other politicians' campaigns. Chief among them, the campaign of his very own wife, Detroit City Councilwoman Monica Conyers.
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  48. ^Conyers Reintroduces Fair Copyright in Research Works Act,Tech Law Journal(February 3, 2009).
  49. ^Willinsky, J. (2009)."The Publishers' Pushback against NIH's Public Access and Scholarly Publishing Sustainability".PLOS Biology.7(1): e30.doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1000030.PMC2631074.PMID19175295.
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  51. ^Lawrence Lessig and Michael Eisen (March 2, 2009)."Is John Conyers Shilling for Special Interests?".HuffPost.RetrievedAugust 23,2010.
  52. ^"A Truth Commission for the Bush Era?".The New York Times.March 2, 2009.RetrievedMarch 23,2011.
  53. ^"H.R.104 | To establish a national commission on presidential war powers and civil liberties".Thomas.loc.gov. June 12, 2009. Archived fromthe originalon October 19, 2015.RetrievedMarch 23,2011.
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  55. ^Paul Blumenthal (July 27, 2009)."Rep. Conyers: Don't Read the Bill".Sunlight Foundation.Archived fromthe originalon July 30, 2009.RetrievedJuly 29,2009.
  56. ^O'Brien, Michael (October 15, 2009)."Conyers blasts GOP lawmakers' accusations of Muslim 'spies' – The Hill's Blog Briefing Room".Thehill.RetrievedAugust 23,2010.
  57. ^"Website of the House Judiciary Committee".Judiciary.house.gov. December 16, 2010. Archived fromthe originalon March 17, 2011.RetrievedMarch 23,2011.
  58. ^abcElliott, Justin (December 16, 2010)Top Dem sticks up for WikiLeaksArchivedDecember 18, 2010, at theWayback Machine,Salon
  59. ^"The reality of neo-Nazis in Ukraine is far from Kremlin propaganda".November 9, 2017. Archived fromthe originalon November 10, 2017.
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  65. ^McLeod, Paul (November 20, 2017)."She complained that a powerful congressman harassed her. Here's why you didn't hear her story".BuzzFeed.RetrievedNovember 20,2017.
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External links[edit]

Articles
U.S. House of Representatives
Preceded by Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromMichigan's 1st congressional district
1965–1993 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromMichigan's 14th congressional district
1993–2013 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Member of theU.S. House of Representatives
fromMichigan's 13th congressional district
2013–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of theHouse Oversight Committee
1989–1995 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Chair of theHouse Judiciary Committee
2007–2011 		Succeeded by
Honorary titles
Preceded by Dean of the United States House of Representatives
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Most seniorDemocratin theU.S. House of Representatives
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Oldest member of the U.S. House of Representatives
2015–2017 		Succeeded by
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