Norton, Eleanor Holmes, 1937-

NORTON, Eleanor Holmes, a Delegate from the District of Columbia; born in Washington, D.C., June 13, 1937; graduated from Dunbar High School, Washington, D.C.; B.A., Antioch College of Antioch University, Yellow Springs, Ohio, 1960; M.A., Yale University, New Haven, Conn., 1963; LL.B., Yale University Law School, New Haven, Conn., 1964; lawyer, private practice; law clerk to Federal District Court Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, 3rd Circuit, 1964-1965; assistant legal director, American Civil Liberties Union, 1965-1970; adjunct assistant professor, New York University Law School, 1970-1971; staff, New York, N.Y. Mayor John Lindsay, 1971-1974; chair, New York City commission on human rights, 1970-1977; chair, United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, 1977-1981; senior fellow, Urban Institute, 1981-1982; professor, Georgetown University Law Center, 1982-1990; elected as a Democrat to the One Hundred Second and to the fifteen succeeding Congresses (January 3, 1991-present).

Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, now in her fifteenth term as the Congresswoman for the District of Columbia, is the Chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. She serves on two committees: the Committee on Oversight and Reform and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Before her congressional service, President Jimmy Carter appointed her to serve as the first woman to chair the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. She came to Congress as a national figure who had been a civil rights and feminist leader, tenured professor of law, and board member at three Fortune 500 companies. Congresswoman Norton has been named one of the 100 most important American women in one survey and one of the most powerful women in Washington in another. The Congresswoman's work for full congressional voting representation and for full democracy for the people of the District of Columbia continues her lifelong struggle for universal human and civil rights.

<p>Lawyer and political leader Eleanor Holmes Norton was born on June 13, 1937 in Washington D.C. to Vela and Coleman Holmes. She received her B.A. degree from Antioch College, and simultaneously earned her M.A. degree in American Studies and her J.D. degree from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.</p>

<p>After graduating from Yale, Norton worked as a law clerk for Federal District Court Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr. She was appointed assistant legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union in 1965, where she represented sixty female employees of Newsweek in their gender discrimination lawsuit against the newspaper in 1970. That same year, she left the American Civil Liberties to head New York’s Human Rights Commission. An active civil rights and feminist leader, Norton served on the founding board of Women’s Rights Law Reporter, the first legal periodical focused on women, and was one of the women to sign the Black Woman’s Manifesto, arguing against the oppression of black women.</p>

<p>In 1977, Norton was appointed the first female chair of the Federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission by President Jimmy Carter. She began teaching law classes at the Georgetown University Law Center in 1981, continuing to teach as a tenured professor of law even after being elected to office. Norton was first elected to the U.S. Congress in 1990 as a democratic delegate to the House of Representatives. Though Norton did not have voting power in Congress as a delegate, she did use her position to influence decisions in the House and in the Senate. Over the years, Norton has brought significant economic development to the District of Columbia throughout her service in Congress, while creating and preserving jobs in Washington, D.C. and securing the construction of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security headquarters in Washington, D.C., in addition to the development of the Southeast Federal Center.</p>

Eleanor Holmes Norton (born June 13, 1937) is an American politician serving as a non-voting Delegate to the United States House of Representatives, representing the District of Columbia. As a non-voting member, 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. She is a member of the Democratic Party.