Norton, Eleanor Holmes, 1937-

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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, introduce legislation, 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.

Eleanor K. Holmes was born in Washington, D.C., the daughter of Vela (née Lynch), a schoolteacher, and Coleman Holmes, a civil servant. While a student at Dunbar High School she was elected junior class president and was a member of the National Honor Society. She attended Antioch College (B.A. 1960), Yale University (M.A. in American Studies 1963) and Yale Law School (LL.B. 1964).

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 such as 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. Her time with the SNCC inspired her lifelong commitment to social activism and her budding sense of feminism. She contributed the piece "For Sadie and Maud" to the 1970 anthology Sisterhood is Powerful: An Anthology of Writings From The Women's Liberation Movement, edited by Robin Morgan. Norton was on the founding advisory board of the Women's Rights Law Reporter (founded 1970), the first legal periodical in the United States to focus exclusively on the field of women's rights law. In the early 1970s, Norton was a signer of the Black Woman's Manifesto, a classic document of the Black feminist movement.

Upon graduation from law school, she worked as a law clerk to Federal District Court Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr In 1965, she became the assistant legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, a position she held until 1970. She worked as an adjunct assistant professor at New York University Law School from 1970 to 1971. 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. Appointed by President Jimmy Carter as the first female chair of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in 1977, 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.

She has also served as a senior fellow of the Urban Institute. Norton became a professor at Georgetown University Law Center in 1982. 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 elected in 1990 as a Democratic delegate to the House of Representatives. The delegate position was open because Del. Walter Fauntroy was running for mayor rather than seeking reelection. Norton received 39 percent of the vote in the Democratic primary election, and 59 percent of the vote in the general election. Norton took office on January 3, 1991, and has been reelected every two years since.

Archival Resources
Role Title Holding Repository
referencedIn Papers of Mary O. Eastwood, (inclusive), (bulk), 1915-1983, 1961-1977 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Records of the National Park Service, 1785 - 2006. Legislative Files, ca. 2010 - 1/3/2016 National Archives Library, National Archives Records Administration
referencedIn Papers of Florynce Kennedy, (inclusive), (bulk), 1915-2004, 1947-1993 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn She's Nobody's Baby collection, 1980-1987 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Bayard Rustin Papers, 1942-1987, (bulk 1963-1980) Library of Congress. Manuscript Division
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Presidential Files. 1977 - 1981. 6/17/77 Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Public Liaison (Clinton Administration), 1993 - 2001. Robert B. "Ben" Johnson's Files, ca. 1993 - ca. 1998 William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
referencedIn Derrick A. Bell, Jr. Papers, 1950-2006 New York University. Archives
referencedIn Kevles, Barbara L. Papers : 1971-1976. Bryn Mawr College, Mariam Coffin Canaday Library
referencedIn Sage Colleges Archives. Honorary degree recipient for 1990, Eleanor Holmes Norton. The Sage Colleges Libraries
referencedIn Records of the Office of Speechwriting (Clinton Administration), 1993 - 2001. Heather Hurlburt's Files, 2000 - 2001 William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
referencedIn Records of the Task Force on National Health Care (Clinton Administration), 1993 - 1994. Steven Edelstein's Files, 1993 - 1994 William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
creatorOf Hadley, Henry Kimball, 1871-1937. Alas : Scotch ; Before night / Henry Hadley. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn East, Catherine Shipe. Papers of Catherine Shipe East. 1941-1995 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Woman Alive! Videotapes and program books, 1974-1977 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Audiotape collection of the National Women's Conference, 1977 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
creatorOf Hadley, Henry Kimball, 1871-1937. Before night / [words by] Eleanor Norton ; [music by] Henry Hadley. New York Public Library System, NYPL
referencedIn Records of the White House Press Office (Carter Administration), 1977 - 1981. Black Media Mass Mailing Files, 1977 - 1981 Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Audio collection, 1966-1991 Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Shigekawa, Joan,. Woman alive! produced by KERA-TV Dallas/Fort Worth and WNET/13 New York; made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; executive producer, Joan Shigekawa. Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Records of the National Organization for Women, 1959-2002 (inclusive), 1966-1998 (bulk) Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Public Liaison (Clinton Administration), 1993 - 2001. Alexis Herman's Files , ca. 1993 - ca. 1996 William J. Clinton Presidential Library & Museum
referencedIn National Organization for Women. Records: Series I-XVI, 1961-1999 (inclusive). Arthur and Elizabeth Schlesinger Library on the History of Women in America‏
referencedIn Records of the White House Counsel's Office (George W. Bush Administration), 1/20/2001 - 1/20/2009. Brett Kavanaugh's Files, 1/20/2001 - 1/20/2009 George W. Bush Library
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Presidential Files. 1977 - 1981. 2/3/77 [1] Jimmy Carter Library
referencedIn Ingram, Judith Allen. Marymal Dryden--Judith Allen Ingram collection 1985-1995. Georgia State University
referencedIn Records of the Office of the Staff Secretary. 1976 - 1981. Presidential Files. 1977 - 1981. 6/16/77 Jimmy Carter Library
Role Title Holding Repository
creatorOf The HistoryMakers Video Oral History with The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton The HistoryMakers
Relation Name
employeeOf American Civil Liberties Union corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Antioch College corporateBody
associatedWith Bell, Derrick A. person
associatedWith Catherine East, 1916-1996 person
employeeOf Georgetown University. Law Center. corporateBody
associatedWith Hadley, Henry Kimball, 1871-1937. person
subordinateOf Higginbotham, A. Leon (Aloyisus Leon), 1928-1998 person
associatedWith Ingram, Judith Allen. person
correspondedWith Kennedy, Florynce person
associatedWith Kevles, Barbara L. person
associatedWith Lindsay, John V. (John Vilet), 1921- person
correspondedWith Mary O. Eastwood person
associatedWith National Organization for Women corporateBody
associatedWith National Organization for Women person
associatedWith National Organization for Women. corporateBody
associatedWith National Women's Conference corporateBody
employeeOf New York (N.Y.). City Commission on Human Rights corporateBody
employeeOf New York university. School of law corporateBody
associatedWith Rustin, Bayard, 1912-1987 person
associatedWith Rustin, Bayard, 1912-1987. person
memberOf United States. Congress. House person
employeeOf United States. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission corporateBody
employeeOf Urban institute corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Yale Law School corporateBody
alumnusOrAlumnaOf Yale University. corporateBody
Place Name Admin Code Country
District of Columbia DC US
New York City NY US
Philadelphia PA US
Yellow Springs OH US
New Haven CT US
Subject
Occupation
Administrative assistants
Law clerks
Lawyers
Professors (teacher)
Representatives, U.S. Congress
Activity

Person

Birth 1937-06-13

Female

Americans

English

Information

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