Congressman John Conyers is stepping down

The longest serving member of Congress has announced his retirement.  Representative John Conyers was recently criticized for alleged sexual harassment of a member of his staff, which played a big part in the 88 year-old Congressman’s decision to step down.

Congressman Conyers was a founding member of the Congressional Black Caucus but is probably better known for his association with civil rights icon Rosa Parks.   After the Montgomery bus boycott led by Martin Luther King, Jr., Rosa Parks and her husband Raymond had difficulty finding jobs in Alabama.  Rosa Parks and her husband eventually relocated to Michigan, which at the time offered greater opportunities for blacks than the Deep South.  Parks was by then well known as an activist in the black community across America and helped Conyers get elected to congress.  After his election she worked as a Congressional Aide for Congressman Conyers until her retirement.  John Conyers served in Congress for 53 years.