October 17, 2019

Senior Democratic Congressman Elijah Cummings passed away in the early morning of Thursday, October 17th. Rep. Cummings had been the Representative of Maryland’s 7th Congressional district since 1996, and over the course of his long career he was a stalwart advocate for racial justice, humane immigration policies, and social justice. He is perhaps best known for his work defending the Voting Rights Act, his advocacy on behalf of the underserved in his district, his principled opposition to the Muslim Ban and to the Trump administration’s border policies, and his peacekeeping efforts in the wake of the murder of Freddie Gray in 2015. 

When he was 11 years old, he helped to integrate a swimming pool in his local Baltimore community. He credits the experience as having changed his life, and there is no greater proof of that than his storied career as a civil servant. His passing has been met with an outpouring of love and memorializing from his Congressional colleagues as well as from those who were touched by his legacy. He will be missed, but his example will persist.