U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume has introduced a congressional resolution asking that the U.S. Postal Service issue a commemorative stamp for Congressman Elijah E. Cummings, he announced Tuesday.
The stamp would honor Cummings’ “life and legacy,” according to the release.
“I wanted to make sure that Elijah would be remembered and his work would not be forgotten. I am encouraged by the vast amount of support this effort has already received from those who knew Elijah or appreciate his legacy,” Mfume said in the statement. The two had been friends for over 40 years.
Cummings was born in Baltimore and went on to a 23-year career in Congress representing Maryland’s 7th Congressional District. In 2002, he became the chair of the Congressional Black Caucus and later became the chairman of the House Oversight and Reform Committee, where he helped lead the impeachment inquiry into President Donald Trump.
Before that, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, and became the youngest chair of the Legislative Black Caucus.
Cummings died at age 68 in October 2019. Mfume won a special election to fill the rest of Cummings’ term. More than two decades earlier, in 1996, Cummings filled the Congressional seat that Mfume left vacant to become president of the NAACP.
The bill to honor Cummings with a commemorative stamp had 49 original co-sponsors in the House as of its introduction, according to the release, as well as the support of Cummings’ family.
“Dad would have been 72 tomorrow. While our family remains heartbroken he is no longer here with us, we have great pride in his congressional leadership, strong advocacy on behalf of the American people and efforts toward bipartisan consensus whenever agreement could be achieved. Those efforts were both exemplary and legendary. It is our family’s strong belief that his legacy is worthy of both national reflection and commemoration,” Cummings’ daughters Jennifer and Adia Cummings said in the the statement.
