Eleanor Holmes Norton
Democrat Delegate of District of Columbia
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 3, 1991 - January 3, 1993
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 5, 1993 - January 3, 1995
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 4, 1995 - January 3, 1997
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 7, 1997 - January 3, 1999
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 6, 1999 - January 3, 2001
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 3, 2001 - January 3, 2003
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 7, 2003 - January 3, 2005
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 4, 2005 - January 3, 2007
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 4, 2007 - January 3, 2009
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 6, 2009 - January 3, 2011
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 5, 2011 - January 3, 2013
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 3, 2013 - January 3, 2015
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 6, 2015 - January 3, 2017
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 3, 2017 - January 3, 2019
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 3, 2019 - January 3, 2021
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 3, 2021 - January 3, 2023
Delegate
District of Columbia
January 3, 2023 - January 3, 2025
- American lawyer, politician, and human rights activist
- Has served as a congressional delegate since 1991
- Organized for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee during the civil rights movement
- First woman to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (1977-1981)
- Attended Antioch College and Yale University, earning degrees in Arts, American studies, and Law
- Active in the civil rights movement during college and law school, including participating in sit-ins and the Mississippi Freedom Summer
- Worked as a law clerk, assistant legal director of the ACLU, and adjunct assistant professor at New York University Law School
- Represented female employees of Newsweek in a discrimination case
- Specialized in freedom of speech cases, including defending the First Amendment rights of the National States' Rights Party
- Appointed head of the New York City Human Rights Commission by Mayor John Lindsay
- Became a professor at Georgetown University Law Center in 1982 and was involved in anti-apartheid activism
- Co-founded African-American Women for Reproductive Freedom in 1990
- Has introduced legislation such as the Nuclear Disarmament and Economic Conversion Act
- Supported legislation to grant the District of Columbia a voting representative in the House
- Criticized for soliciting campaign funds from a lobbyist but defended the action as typical for Congress members
- Blocked from testifying on an anti-abortion bill in her district
- Vowed to defend against congressional attempts to stop marijuana legalization in D.C.
- Member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Congressional Black Caucus
- Committee assignments include Oversight and Accountability, and Transportation and Infrastructure
- Sponsored and supported various legislation, including naming the Coast Guard headquarters and increasing transparency in federal spending
- Appeared on The Colbert Report and Democracy Now!, and discussed issues like D.C. representation and the Supreme Court's ruling on gun control
- Advocated for changing the NFL's tax-exempt status over the Washington Redskins' team name
- Portrayed in media and films, highlighting her influence in politics and culture
- Personal life includes marriage, two children, and being an Episcopalian
- Received awards for her lifetime achievements and contributions to civil rights and women's rights