Sad, Ron Dellums isn't with us anymore [View all]

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Last edited Tue Jul 31, 2018, 03:01 PM - Edit history (3)

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...the former congressman was an inspiration at a time when I first began looking to see who in government actually represented me and my interests.

Repeating an old narrative of mine... when I was a young adult, there were just a few black legislators in Congress, including Ron Dellums, who died Monday at age 82. I still recall the mere handful of blacks I found in Congress when I first explored the Capitol. That didn't change quickly or a great deal over my subsequent years visiting there.

It wasn't until 1990 that we actually saw a significant influx of minorities elected to Congress, enabled by the 1990 census Democrats fought to reform and manage (along with their earlier fight for an extension of the Voting Rights Act which Bush I vetoed five times before trading his signature on the bill for votes for Clarence Thomas) which allowed court-ordered redistricting to double the number of districts with black majorities.

At any rate, I distinctly remember seeing the Rep. Ron Dellums and his nice fro, ever present on the nearly empty House floor, bouncing around here and there with a sheaf of papers in his hand. I had imagined at the time that there were many more like him in the wings, however, there were only a dozen or so black congressmen and women from the 70's to the 90's, including Rep. Dellums.


13 founding members of the newly formed CBC (Ron Dellums, the tallest)

Advantaged by redistricting gains, about 90 African Americans have been elected to Congress since 1971. So, Rep. Dellums was in quite an elite group of groundbreakers and pathmakers.

Rep. Dellums had position on the House Armed Services Committee, and he was a strong advocate at the time for reductions in the military budget, and organized against U.S. war crimes in Vietnam in '71. Dellums also sued George W. Bush over his 1991 military invasion and occupation of Kuwait. Dellums also introduced the first bill calling for sanctions to confront South African apartheid.

It's remarkable just how confident, capable, and determined many black folks like Ron Dellums were in that still dark, but emerging period in our history as they kept their heads well above the water; making leaps and bounds in their personal and professional lives, then, turning right around and giving it all back to their communities in the gift of their expertise and labor.

Ron Dellums was from a generation where the fight for 'civil rights' was an actual and active defense of his rights of citizenship. He grew up in an era where those rights were under daily denial and attack, and emerged as a primary defender of those rights for all Americans; as a marine; as an activist; as a legislator.

That's a beautiful thing, and something we can all emulate in our own lives. Inspire the next generation as Mr. Dellums sought to, by dedicating ourselves to bettering our communities, even as we endeavor to better ourselves.

RIP, Congressman Dellums.