IV 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 386 

Honoring retired Representative John Conyers, Jr., and extending to him 

the best wishes of the House of Representatives on the occasion of 

his 90th birthday. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 16, 2019 

Ms. JACKSON LEE (for herself, Ms. KAPTUR, Mrs. LAWRENCE, Ms. TLAIB, 

Ms. CLARKE of New York, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. COHEN, Mr. GREEN of 

Texas, Ms. KELLY of Illinois, Mr. DANNY K. DAVIS of Illinois, Mr. 

JEFFRIES, Ms. JOHNSON of Texas, Mr. PAYNE, Mr. CARSON of Indiana, 

Mr. THOMPSON of Mississippi, Mr. CUMMINGS, Mr. LEWIS, Mr. 

BUTTERFIELD, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. HORSFORD, Ms. LEE of 

California, Mr. SCOTT of Virginia, Mr. HASTINGS, Mr. CLEAVER, Mr. 

JOHNSON of Georgia, Mr. RUSH, Mr. GRIJALVA, and Mr. CLAY) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 

House Administration 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring retired Representative John Conyers, Jr., and extending to him the best wishes of the House of Representatives on the occasion of his 90th birthday. 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., was born in Highland Park, 

Michigan, on May 16, 1929, and grew up in the city of 

Detroit, Michigan; 

Whereas after his graduation from Northwestern High 

School, John Conyers, Jr., served in the Michigan National Guard from 1948 to 1950, the United States Army 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
2 

•HRES 386 IH 

from 1950 to 1954, and the United States Army Reserves from 1954 to 1957; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., served for a year in Korea during the Korean War as an officer in the United States 

Army Corps of Engineers and was awarded combat and 

merit citations; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., earned both his B.A. (1957) and 

LL.B. (1958) degrees from Wayne State University; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., was an active member of the 

Michigan Bar, co-founding the law firm Conyers, Bell & 

Townsend, working on the staff of Congressman John 

Dingell, serving as counsel to Detroit-area labor union 

locals, and serving as a referee for Michigan’s workmen’s 

compensation department from 1961–1963; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., was active in the Civil Rights 

Movement, traveling throughout the South, and was in 

Selma, Alabama, on October 7, 1963, for the voter registration drive known as Freedom Day; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., ran for an open seat in Michigan’s 1st Congressional District, following the landmark 

1964 Baker v. Carr decision, and defeated his opponent 

with 84 percent of the vote; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., received the only known political 

endorsement of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 

and Rosa Parks, known for her prominent role in the 

Montgomery, Alabama bus boycott, moved to Detroit and 

served on Conyers’ staff between 1965 and 1988; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., served 26 terms, winning re-election 25 times, and is the third longest-serving member of 

the House in history, and the sixth longest-serving member of Congress in history; 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
3 

•HRES 386 IH 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., is one of the 13 members who 

founded the Congressional Black Caucus in 1969 and 

was considered the Dean of the Caucus during his tenure; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., won a seat as a freshman on the 

influential Committee on the Judiciary and went on to 

serve as Chairman of that Committee from 2007 to 

2011, along with serving as the ranking Democratic 

member on the Committee from 1995 to 2007 and again 

from 2011 to 2017; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., during his tenure in Congress, 

vigorously and successfully worked to oppose initiatives 

that violated constitutional values and served as a beacon 

of hope to those facing poverty and injustice, pursuing 

legislative causes and oversight on issues that included 

police misconduct, access to affordable health care, 

LGBTQ protections, violence against the Arab and Muslim-American communities, AIDS in the African-American community, environmental racism, and restorative 

justice; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., served as Vice President of the 

Detroit Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild, Executive Board Member of the NAACP, and Executive Board 

Member of the ACLU; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., over the course of his legislative 

career, was responsible for more than 100 bills, amendments, and resolutions being enacted, including 57 on 

which he was the overall lead sponsor, and an additional 

56 that he managed or was the lead Democratic sponsor; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., led many notable legislative efforts, including the Martin Luther King Holiday Act, reVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:32 May 17, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR386.IH HR386

kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
4 

•HRES 386 IH 

authorizations of the Voting Rights Act, reauthorizations 

of the Violence Against Women Act, the Hate Crimes 

Prevention Act, the Pattern and Practice Enforcement 

Act, the USA Freedom Act, the Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act, the Fair Sentencing Act, the National Voter 

Registration Act of 1993 (commonly known as the 

‘‘Motor Voter Act’’), and the Innocence Protection Act; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., paid particular attention to advocating for the Detroit area, cooperating with other Members to secure over $850 million in grants and appropriation from 1993–2015, notably working to secure Federal 

funds to prevent closure of the Detroit Medical Center 

and the Detroit IRS office, along with successfully advocating for the opening of a Detroit satellite location of 

the Patent and Trademark Office; 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., was found the most effective 

Democratic member of the House of Representatives in 

a 2013 joint study by the University of Virginia and 

Vanderbilt University; and 

Whereas John Conyers, Jr., is recognized as a champion of 

civil rights and civil liberties, receiving numerous honors, 

including the NAACP Spingarn Medal and the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights Hubert H. 

Humphrey Award: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

2 (1) honors retired Representative John Con3 yers, Jr., on the occasion of his 90th birthday; and 

4 (2) extends congratulations and best wishes 

5 from the House of Representatives to Representative 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS
5 

•HRES 386 IH 

1 Conyers in celebration of a distinguished legislative 

2 career. 

Æ 


kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS