Dear John xxxxxx,
At 2:45 this morning, the American people and The Opportunity Agenda family lost a giant, a moral exemplar, and a friend. Representative Elijah Eugene Cummings was born in Baltimore on January 18, 1951. The child of sharecroppers, Cummings graduated from the Baltimore City College high school, Howard University -- where he was Phi Beta Kappa and graduated with a degree in political science -- and then the University of Maryland School of Law.
After a career in the law, Cummings went on to serve in the Maryland House of Delegates, before being elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996, representing Maryland’s 7th District, which includes Baltimore County and the City of Baltimore. Cummings’ decades of work in the House reflected his commitment to civil rights and economic justice. In the wake of the 2015 murder of Freddie Gray, Cummings’ moral imperative toward justice was evidenced as he held a fractured Baltimore together. As the chair of the House Oversight Committee, Cummings led the move toward President Trump’s impeachment, always urging a focus on transparency and justice.
This is a loss for us all, including his constituents – for whom he worked until the end – as well as his family, and his beloved wife, Dr. Maya Rockeymoore Cummings. Dr. Rockeymoore Cummings, the chair of the Maryland Democratic Party, is an accomplished legislative consultant with whom The Opportunity Agenda has developed briefings on human rights, housing justice, anti-poverty, and criminal justice reform. We offer our condolences to her and all those who have lost a beloved family member and friend. This moment also serves as a reminder for all of us to continue the work and legacy of this great man, to bend the arc of the moral universe more surely towards justice.
Sincerely,
