Eleanor Holmes Norton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Eleanor Holmes Norton
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Official portrait, 2010
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| Delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives from the District of Columbia's at-large district |
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| Assumed office January 3, 1991 |
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| Preceded by | Walter Fauntroy |
| Chair of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission | |
| In office May 27, 1977 – February 21, 1981 |
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| President | Jimmy Carter Ronald Reagan |
| Preceded by | Lowell W. Perry |
| Succeeded by | Clarence Thomas |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Eleanor Katherine Holmes
June 13, 1937 Washington, D.C., U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse |
Edward Norton
(m. 1965; div. 1993) |
| Children | 2 |
| Education | Antioch College (BA) Yale University (MA, LLB) |
| Signature |  |
| Website | |
Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is an American politician, lawyer, and human rights activist. She represents Washington, D.C. in the United States House of Representatives. She has been a delegate for the District of Columbia since 1991. As a delegate, she works with the Democratic Party. She is currently serving her eighteenth term in this role.
Before becoming a delegate, Ms. Norton was active in the civil rights movement. She helped organize for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. From 1977 to 1981, she was the first woman to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. This agency works to prevent unfair treatment in jobs.
She is also a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, a group of lawmakers who support progressive ideas.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Eleanor Holmes Norton was born in Washington, D.C.. Her mother, Vela, was a schoolteacher, and her father, Coleman Holmes, worked for the government. She went to Dunbar High School. This school was known for educating Black children during a time when schools were separated by race. She was elected junior class president and was a member of the National Honor Society.
After high school, she attended Antioch College, earning her bachelor's degree in 1960. She then went to Yale University. There, she earned a master's degree in American studies in 1963 and a law degree in 1964.
Activism for Civil Rights
While in college and graduate school, Ms. Norton was very involved in the civil rights movement. She helped organize for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC). By the time she finished college, she had already been arrested for taking part in sit-ins. These were protests where people sat in places they were not allowed to be, to fight against unfair rules.
During law school, she traveled to Mississippi for the Mississippi Freedom Summer. This was a big effort to register Black voters and challenge unfair laws. She worked with important civil rights leaders like Medgar Evers. She saw firsthand the harsh treatment and unfair laws that Black people faced in the South.
Her experiences in SNCC inspired her to work for social justice and feminism. Feminism is the belief that women should have equal rights and opportunities. She also helped start the Women's Rights Law Reporter in 1970. This was the first legal magazine in the U.S. to focus only on women's rights law. In the early 1970s, she signed the Black Woman's Manifesto. This was an important document for the Black feminist movement.
Career Before Congress
After law school, Ms. Norton worked for a federal judge. In 1965, she became an assistant legal director for the American Civil Liberties Union. This group works to protect people's rights. She held this job until 1970.
In 1970, Ms. Norton represented 60 women who worked at Newsweek magazine. These women said Newsweek only allowed men to be reporters. The women won their case, and Newsweek agreed to let women become reporters.
Ms. Norton specialized in cases about freedom of speech. She even argued a case before the Supreme Court to defend the rights of a group she disagreed with. She explained that defending the First Amendment means defending everyone's right to speak, even those with unpopular ideas.
From 1970 to 1971, she taught at New York University Law School. In 1970, the mayor of New York City appointed her to lead the New York City Human Rights Commission. She held the first public hearings in the country about unfair treatment against women. She used this platform to raise awareness about how the Civil Rights Act of 1964 applied to women.
Leading the EEOC
In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Ms. Norton to lead the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). She was the first woman to hold this position. ..... This was against federal civil rights laws.
She also taught as a professor at Georgetown University Law Center starting in 1982. During this time, she was a strong activist against apartheid in South Africa. Apartheid was a system of racial separation and discrimination. She was part of the Free South Africa Movement.
In 1990, Ms. Norton and other African American women and one man formed a group called African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom. In 2011, she received a Foremother Award for her many achievements from the National Research Center for Women & Families.
Delegate to Congress
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In 1990, Eleanor Holmes Norton was elected as a delegate to the U.S. House of Representatives. She won the election and took office on January 3, 1991. She has been reelected every two years since then.
Delegates to Congress can sit in the House of Representatives. They can vote in committees and suggest changes to bills. However, they are not allowed to vote on the final laws on the House floor. Washington, D.C., and four U.S. territories send delegates to Congress.
Ms. Norton has introduced a bill called the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act since 1994. This bill would require the U.S. to get rid of its nuclear weapons if all other countries with nuclear weapons do the same.
Efforts for D.C. Voting Rights
Ms. Norton strongly supports giving Washington, D.C., a voting representative in the House. In 2009, a bill called the District of Columbia House Voting Rights Act of 2009 passed the United States Senate. However, it did not pass in the House before that Congress ended. This bill would have given D.C. a voting representative.
In 2012, Ms. ..... She said this was unfair and a denial of common courtesy. Other lawmakers supported her protest.
..... Norton promised to defend D.C.'s right to vote on the issue. She also vowed to fight any attempts by Congress to stop it from happening if approved.
She is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus.
Committee Assignments
Ms. Norton serves on several important committees in the House of Representatives:
- Committee on Oversight and Accountability
- Subcommittee on Economic Growth, Energy Policy and Regulatory Affairs
- Subcommittee on Government Operations and the Federal Workforce
- Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
- Subcommittee on Aviation
- Subcommittee on Economic Development, Public Buildings and Emergency Management
- Subcommittee on Highways and Transit (She is the Ranking Member, meaning the top minority party member)
- Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment
Caucus Memberships
Ms. Norton is part of many groups of lawmakers who share common interests. These include:
- Black Maternal Health Caucus
- Congressional Progressive Caucus
- Congressional Black Caucus
- Congressional Caucus for the Equal Rights Amendment
- House Baltic Caucus
- Congressional Arts Caucus
- Congressional Freethought Caucus
- Climate Solutions Caucus
- Congressional Solar Caucus
- U.S.-Japan Caucus
- Medicare for All Caucus
- Blue Collar Caucus
- LGBTQ+ Equality Caucus
- Congressional Coalition on Adoption
- Rare Disease Caucus
- Congressional Caucus on Turkey and Turkish Americans
Legislation She Has Supported
Ms. Norton has sponsored or supported several important bills:
- In 2013, she sponsored a bill to name the new Coast Guard headquarters after Douglas A. Munro. He was the only United States Coast Guard member to receive the Medal of Honor.
- In 2013, she sponsored a bill to increase the pay cap for D.C.'s Chief Financial Officer.
- In 2014, she sponsored a bill to make changes to the D.C. Courts system. She said this would make the local justice process more efficient.
- In 2020, she announced plans to introduce legislation to remove the Emancipation Memorial. This statue was funded by the wages of formerly enslaved people. She reintroduced this bill in 2021.
- She supported the Digital Accountability and Transparency Act of 2014 (S. 994; 113th Congress). This bill makes information about federal spending easier to find and more open to the public.
- She supported a bill to change the height limit for penthouses in D.C. This would allow people to live in them.
Public Appearances
Ms. Norton has appeared on TV shows like The Colbert Report. She discussed D.C.'s claim to be part of the United States and the issue of D.C. representation. She also appeared on Democracy Now! to discuss a Supreme Court ruling about gun rights in D.C., which she disagreed with.
Personal Life
Eleanor Holmes Norton was married to Edward Norton. They had two children, John and Katherine. Katherine has Down syndrome. Ms. Norton is a member of the Episcopal Church.
Awards and Recognition
- Foremother Award from National Center for Health Research, 2011
- Coretta Scott King Legacy Award from the Coretta Scott King Center for Cultural and Intellectual Freedom, 2017
- Honoree, National Women's History Alliance, 2020
See also
- List of African-American United States representatives
- Women in the United States House of Representatives
