Eleanor Holmes Norton

Eleanor Holmes Norton
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives
from the District of Columbia's At-large district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 3, 1991
Preceded by Walter Fauntroy
Chairperson of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
In office
May 27, 1977 – February 21, 1981
President Jimmy Carter
Ronald Reagan
Preceded by Lowell Perry
Succeeded by Clarence Thomas
Personal details
Born Eleanor Holmes
June 13, 1937
Washington, D.C., U.S.
Political party Democratic
Spouse(s) Edward Norton (1965–1993)
Children 2
Alma mater Antioch College
Yale University
Religion Episcopalian

Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is a Delegate to the United States Congress representing the District of Columbia. As a non-voting member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Norton may serve on committees as well as speak on the House floor; however, she is not permitted to vote on the final passage of any legislation.

Early life and career accomplishments

Eleanor Holmes was born in Washington, D.C., to Coleman Holmes, a civil servant, and Vela Holmes née Lynch, a schoolteacher. She attended Antioch College (B.A. 1960), Yale University (M.A. in American Studies 1963)[1] and Yale Law School (LL.B 1964).[2]

While in college and graduate school, she was active in the civil rights movement and an organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. By the time she graduated from Antioch, she had already been arrested for organizing and participating in sit-ins in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Ohio. While in law school, she traveled to Mississippi for the Mississippi Freedom Summer and worked with civil rights stalwarts like Medgar Evers. Her first encounter with a recently released but physically beaten Fannie Lou Hamer forced her to bear witness to the intensity of violence and Jim Crow repression in the South.[3] Her time with the SNCC inspired her lifelong commitment to social activism and her budding sense of feminism. In the early 1970s, Eleanor Holmes Norton was a signer of the Black Woman’s Manifesto, a classic document of the Black feminist movement.[4]

Eleanor Holmes Norton as chair of the EEOC

Upon graduation from law school, she worked as a law clerk to Federal District Court Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.[1] In 1965, she became the assistant legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, a position she held until 1970.[5] Holmes Norton specialized in freedom of speech cases, and her work included winning a Supreme Court case on behalf of the National States' Rights Party,[6] a victory she put into perspective in an interview with one of the District of Columbia Bar's website editors: "I defended the First Amendment, and you seldom get to defend the First Amendment by defending people you like ... You don’t know whether the First Amendment is alive and well until it is tested by people with despicable ideas. And I loved the idea of looking a racist in the face—remember this was a time when racism was much more alive and well than it is today—and saying, 'I am your lawyer, sir, what are you going to do about that?'"[1] Norton worked as an adjunct assistant professor at New York University Law School from 1970 to 1971.[7] In 1970, Mayor John Lindsay appointed her as the head of the New York City Human Rights Commission, and she held the first hearings in the country on discrimination against women.[8] Prominent feminists from throughout the country came to New York City to testify, while Norton used the platform as a means of raising public awareness about the application of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to women and sex discrimination.[3] In 1970, Norton represented sixty female employees of Newsweek who had filed a claim with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that Newsweek had a policy of only allowing men to be reporters.[9] The women won, and Newsweek agreed to allow women to be reporters.[9]

Appointed by President Jimmy Carter as the first female Chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1977,[5] Norton released the EEOC's first set of regulations outlining what constituted sexual harassment and declaring that sexual harassment was indeed a form of sexual discrimination that violated federal civil rights laws.[10][11]

She has also served as a senior fellow of the Urban Institute.[12] Norton became a professor at Georgetown University Law Center in 1982.[5] During this time, she was a vocal anti-apartheid activist in the U.S., and was a part of the Free South Africa Movement.

Norton was one of the founders of the Women's Rights Law Reporter, the first legal periodical to focus exclusively on women's rights. In 1990, Norton, along with 15 other African American women and men, formed the African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom.[13]

She received a Foremother Award for her lifetime of accomplishments from the National Research Center for Women & Families in 2011.[14]

Delegate to Congress

Jack Kemp, Adrian Fenty, and Norton at D.C. Vote rally on Capitol Hill.

Though she often refers to herself as "Congresswoman,"[15] Norton was elected in 1990 as a Democratic delegate to the House of Representatives, defeating city council member Betty Ann Kane in the primary despite the last-minute revelation that Norton and her husband (both lawyers) had failed to file D.C. income tax returns between 1982 and 1989.[16] As reported in the Washington Post, this issue was resolved when she and her husband paid over $80,000 in back taxes and fines.[17][18] Her campaign manager was Donna Brazile.[18] The delegate position was open because Del. Walter Fauntroy was running for mayor rather than seeking reelection.[19] Norton received 39 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary election,[20] and 59 percent of the vote in the general election.[21] Norton took office on January 3, 1991, and has been reelected every two years since.[19]

Delegates to Congress are entitled to sit in the House of Representatives and vote in committee (including the Committee of the Whole), but are not allowed to take part in legislative floor votes.[22] The District shares this limited form of congressional representation with Puerto Rico and four other U.S. territories: Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

William Thomas and the White House Peace Vigil inspired Norton to introduce the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act, which would require the United States to disable and dismantle its nuclear weapons when all other nations possessing nuclear weapons do likewise.[23] Norton has been introducing a version of the bill since 1994.[23]

Legislation strongly supported by Norton that would grant the District of Columbia a voting representative in the House, the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009, was passed by the United States Senate on February 26, 2009. However the legislation stalled in the House and failed to pass prior to the end of the 111th Congress.

The legislation proposed in 2009 did not grant Norton the right to vote in the 111th Congress, as she would have had to remain in her elected office of delegate for the duration of her two-year term.[24]

In September 2010, the national press criticized Norton after the release of a voice message in which she solicits campaign funds from a lobbyist who represents a project that she oversees. Norton countered that the message was typical of appeals made by all members of Congress and that the call was made from campaign offices not paid for by taxpayers.[25] In March 2012, the public radio series This American Life featured the voicemail message at the start of a program on lobbying titled "Take the Money and Run for Office".[26]

In May 2012, Norton was blocked from testifying on an anti-abortion bill in her district—the second time she has been blocked from speaking about abortion. She insisted that it was a denial of a common courtesy. Representative Jerrold Nadler also came to Norton's defense, saying "Never in my 20 years as a member of Congress have I seen a colleague treated so contemptuously."[27][28][29]

In August 2014, after the D.C. Board of Elections voted to put a question about marijuana legalization on the ballot in November 2014, Norton vowed to defend against any congressional attempt to stop the District from voting on the issue and to, if approved, fight any attempt to prevent implementation. [30]

She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus.

Committee assignments

Legislation sponsored

Legislation supported

Appearances

On July 27, 2006, Norton appeared on the "Better Know a District" segment of Comedy Central's The Colbert Report, in which she spiritedly defended the District of Columbia's claim to being a part of the United States.[40] Norton also appeared on the joint Colbert Report/Daily Show "Midterm Midtacular" special on November 7, 2006.[41] A further interview with Stephen Colbert was conducted on March 22, 2007,[42] and April 24, 2007 on the subject of representation in the District of Columbia.[43] On February 12, 2008, Colbert and Norton discussed her status as a superdelegate as well as her support of Barack Obama for President.[44] She appeared once again on February 11, 2009 to discuss D.C. representation and promised Colbert that she would make him an honorary citizen of Washington, D.C., and give him a key to the city, if D.C. citizens were given representation. Colbert in turn gave Norton a "TV promise" that he would be there should that happen.[45] Norton made a further appearance on Colbert's show on June 25, 2014, where she discussed the impact that African American democrats had on incumbent Thad Cochran's primary defeat of Chris McDaniel, a Tea Party candidate, as well as Colbert's final episode among a cadre of past guests.[46]

Colbert and Norton maintain a satirical rivalry, with their interviews usually involving Colbert belittling Norton's fight for fair representation of D.C. and, in retaliation, Norton famously questioning Colbert's nationality due to the pronunciation of his surname.

Norton is a regular panelist on the PBS women's news program To the Contrary.

On June 27, 2008, Norton appeared on Democracy Now! to discuss the Supreme Court's ruling in District of Columbia v. Heller,[47] which she strongly opposed. On December 5, 2014, Norton appeared on Hannity to discuss the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri on which she admitted she did not read the evidence of the case and said she was "wasn't concerned" about what happened despite criticizing the police for supposedly profiling young African Americans.[48][49]

Legislation regarding the National Football League (NFL) tax exempt status

On October 2, 2014 ABC News reported that Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton in discussing her co-sponsoring a bill aimed at changing the National Football League's tax-exempt status, Del. Holmes Norton stated: "The NFL greed is so widespread that they’ve chosen to operate as a tax-exempt organization. So we want to take that choice away from them unless, and until, they decide not to profit from a name that has now officially been declared a racial slur,” Norton said on the ESPN/ABC podcast “Capital Games,” according to ABCNews.com. [50] In essence, Del. Holmes Norton's position was that until the NFL forced the Washington Redskins owner (Daniel Marc Snyder) to change the team name she would support legislation that would change the NFL's tax status thereby costing the league money. [51]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Staff (June–July 1997). "Legends in the Law. A Conversation with Eleanor Holmes Norton". The District of Columbia Bar. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  2. ↑ Biography of Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Voices of the Civil Rights Movement
  4. ↑ "http://scriptorium.lib.duke.edu/wlm/blkmanif/".
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Donna Hightower-Langston (2002). A to Z of American Women Leaders and Activists. Infobase Publishing. pp. 165–166. ISBN 978-1-4381-0792-9. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  6. ↑ "Court Revokes Ban On Extremists' Rally". The Palm Beach Post, via Google News. Associated Press. November 20, 1968.
  7. ↑ Rebecca Mae Salokar; Mary L. Volcansek (1996). Women in Law: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 205. ISBN 978-0-313-29410-5. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  8. ↑ Rebecca Mae Salokar; Mary L. Volcansek (1996). Women in Law: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook. Greenwood Publishing Group. pp. 203–204. ISBN 978-0-313-29410-5. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 "Newsweek Agrees to End Sex Discrimination Policy". Eugene Register-Guard, via Google News. Associated Press. August 28, 1970.
  10. ↑ Sexual Harassment - Further Readings
  11. ↑ "New Rules Ban Sexual Harassment at Work". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, via Google News. New York TImes News Service. April 12, 1980. |first1= missing |last1= in Authors list (help)
  12. ↑ Staff (1988). "Urban Institute Annual Report 1988" (PDF). Urban Institute. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  13. ↑ Kathryn Cullen-DuPont (1 August 2000). Encyclopedia of women's history in America. Infobase Publishing. p. 6. ISBN 978-0-8160-4100-8. Retrieved 4 February 2012.
  14. ↑ Staff (2011). "2011 Foremothers & Health Policy Hero Awards. Foremothers Lifetime Achievement Awards". National Research Center for Women and Families. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
  15. ↑ http://norton.house.gov/
  16. ↑ "Hopeful Won't Quit Despite Tax Woes". The Pittsburgh Press, via Google News. September 10, 1990.
  17. ↑ Abramowitz, Michael (1990-09-12). "D.C. Delegate; Norton Overcomes Last-Minute Crisis to Win". The Washington Post. p. A21. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  18. ↑ 18.0 18.1 Melton, R.H.; Abramowitz, Michael (1990-09-25). "Second D.C. Candidate Didn't Pay Taxes; Shadow Seat Hopeful Says Failure to File Is a Protest for Statehood". The Washington Post. p. A01. Retrieved 2008-07-28.
  19. ↑ 19.0 19.1 District of Columbia Board of Elections and Ethics. "Historical Elected Officials: Delegate to the US House of Representatives". Archived from the original on 2008-07-16. Retrieved 2008-07-20.
  20. ↑ Ayres Jr, B. Drummond (September 12, 1990). "Woman Nominated for Capital Mayor". The New York Times.
  21. ↑ Keil, Richard (November 5, 1990). "Barry Loses Bid for City Council". Gettysburg Times, via Google News. Associated Press.
  22. ↑ DC Vote - The Local Delegation: Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.)
  23. ↑ 23.0 23.1 "Norton Files Nuclear Disarmament Bill to Implement D.C. Ballot Initiative". March 19, 2009.
  24. ↑ "Text of S.160 as Introduced in Senate District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009". OpenCongress.
  25. ↑ Siegel, Hannah. "Dialing For Dollars: Democratic Rep. Asks Lobbyist For Campaign Cash In Voicemail". ABC News. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  26. ↑ "Take the Money and Run for Office". This American Life. PRI. Retrieved 16 April 2012.
  27. ↑ ROBILLARD, KEVIN (17 May 2012). "Norton refused testimony in anti-abortion hearing". Politico. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  28. ↑ "Norton Testimony Denied at D.C. Abortion Hearing". NBC4 Washington. 17 May 2012.
  29. ↑ "They did it again: GOP refuses to hear Congresswoman's testimony on DC abortion bill". MSNBC. 18 May 2012. Retrieved 19 June 2012.
  30. ↑ Hess, Hannah. "Norton Vows to Defend D.C.’s Pot Legalization Initiative From Congress". www.rollcall.com. Roll Call. Retrieved 7 August 2014.
  31. ↑ Norton, Eleanor Holmes. "THE INTRODUCTION OF A BILL TO NAME THE U.S. COAST GUARD HEADQUARTERS -- (Extensions of Remarks - July 08, 2013)". Library of Congress. Retrieved 15 July 2013.
  32. ↑ Debonis, Mike (8 July 2013). "Search for D.C.'s next CFO takes shape". Washington Post. Retrieved 19 November 2013.
  33. ↑ "H.R. 3343 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 18 November 2013.
  34. ↑ "CBO - H.R. 4185". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  35. ↑ "H.R. 4185 - Summary". United States Congress. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  36. ↑ "Norton Bill to Strengthen Local Justice Process in D.C. Passes House". Office of Eleanor Holmes Norton. Retrieved 15 July 2014.
  37. ↑ "CBO - S. 994". Congressional Budget Office. Retrieved 28 April 2014.
  38. ↑ Marcos, Cristina (28 April 2014). "Federal transparency bill headed to White House". The Hill. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  39. ↑ Marcos, Cristina (28 April 2014). "House votes to allow more DC penthouses". The Hill. Retrieved 29 April 2014.
  40. ↑ The Colbert Report - 07/27/2006 - Better Know a District - District of Columbia - Eleanor Holmes Norton
  41. ↑ The Colbert Report: Indecision 2006 - Midterm Midtactular - 11/07/2006 - Robert Wexler and Eleanor Holmes Norton
  42. ↑ The Colbert Report - 03/22/2007 - Eleanor Holmes Norton
  43. ↑ The Colbert Report - 04/24/2007 - Eleanor Holmes Norton
  44. ↑ The Colbert Report - 02/12/2008 - Eleanor Holmes Norton
  45. ↑ The Colbert Report - 02/11/2009 - DC Voting Rights Act - Eleanor Holmes Norton
  46. ↑ Cohen, Matt. "Eleanor Holmes Norton Vs Stephen Colbert, Round Four". DCist.com. Gothamist. Retrieved 26 June 2014.
  47. ↑ Supreme Court Strikes Down DC Handgun Ban
  48. ↑ Josh Feldman. "Hannity Rips Into Eleanor Holmes Norton: You Didn’t Read Ferguson Evidence?!". Mediaite. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  49. ↑ Eric Garland. "Hannity, Norton clash over Ferguson evidence". The Hill. Retrieved 5 December 2014.
  50. ↑ http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/politics/2014/10/capital-games-behind-congress-attack-on-nfl-tax-breaks/
  51. ↑ http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-shutdown-corner/congress-looking-to-take-nfl-s-tax-break-away-if-it-doesn-t-change-redskins-name-222237825.html

Further reading

External links

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United States House of Representatives
Preceded by
Walter Fauntroy		 Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives
from the District of Columbia's At-large congressional district
1991–present 		Incumbent
United States order of precedence (ceremonial)
Preceded by
Ryan Zinke
as U.S. Representative		 United States Delegates by seniority
1st 		Succeeded by
Madeleine Bordallo