The Caribbean Community (Caricom) Reparations Commission (CRC) has paid tribute to the late United States Congressman John Conyers, describing him as a “Champion for Reparations”.

Conyers, who served as a US Democratic Representative for Michigan from 1965 to 2017, died on October 27. He was 90.

With 52 years of public service, Conyers was the longest-serving US congressman of all time.

“We at the Caricom Reparations Commission are deeply saddened by the recent passing of legendary US Congressman John Conyers and extend our heartfelt condolences to his family and to the people of his hometown, Detroit,” said Sir Hilary Beckles, CRC chairman and current vice-chancellor of the University of The West Indies (UWI), in a statement on Friday.

“A champion for reparatory justice for the descendants of enslaved Africans, Congressman Conyers vision and steadfast support for reparations has been a source of inspiration for our commission and for reparations advocates and activists across the world,” he added. “Year after year, without fail since 1989, Conyers introduced HR 40 – the Commission to Study and Implement Reparations Proposals for African Americans Act.

“It is this Bill that has provided the mechanism to have a public policy conversation about this historic issue in the Congress of the United States,” Sir Hilary continued.

He said HR-40 is now “ably championed” by US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas and is working its way through the committee structure in the US Congress.

Over 120 congresspersons and senators, along with several of the Democratic Party Presidential candidates, are publicly supporting HR-40, Sir Hilary noted.

“I was honoured to accept his invitations to participate on two separate occasions in reparations forums that he sponsored at the Annual Legislative Conference of the Congressional Black Caucus,” he said “He was a friend and mentor to me and many others across the Caribbean region; and, in our conversations, I found him to be warm, charming, gracious and humble and with an unwavering dedication to his political principles and convictions.

“He applauded the work of the Caricom Reparations Commission and would always offer words of encouragement and inspiration,” he added.

“A lion of the US Congress,” Sir Hilary said Conyers was one of the most consequential lawmakers in US history.

A co-founder of the Congressional Black Caucus back in 1969, when there were only six African American congressmen, Sir Hilary said Conyers was often referred to as “the Dean of the Caucus.”

Today, the UWI vice-chancellor said the Black Caucus counts over 50 active members among its ranks.

He said Conyers was recognised and respected as one of the most progressive members of the US Congress who led the fight for some 100 pieces of hallmark legislation over the years.

“He frequently swam against the prevailing political currents during his time in Congress,” the Barbadian-born historian said.

Throughout his stellar career, he said Conyers fervently supported such progressive causes as gun control, anti-poverty programmes and universal health care.

He said Conyers held hearings to spotlight police misconduct, adding that he never once wavered in fighting for jobs, justice and peace.

Days after the 1968 assassination of the Rev Martin Luther King Jr, Sir Hilary said Conyers introduced a resolution calling for a national holiday in his name.

“It took 15 years for that legislative battle to be won, but Conyers persisted,” he said.

Always a proponent for Caribbean regional sovereignty, Sir Hilary said Conyers “vigorously opposed” the Reagan Administration’s invasion of Grenada in October 1983 and the Bush Administration’s invasion of Panama in December 1989.

Even before he became a congressman, Sir Hilary said Conyers was a civil and human rights activist, and a fighter for the rights of organised labour.

In 1964, he travelled to Jim Crow, Mississippi during Freedom Summer and offered legal representation to black voting-rights activists, the UWI vice-chancellor said.

One year later, he said Conyers supported the Voting Rights Act as a member of the US House of Representatives. He was the only congressman ever endorsed by slain US civil rights leader, the Rev Dr Martin Luther King Jr.

Sir Hilary noted that Conyers’ district office in Detroit employed civil rights legend Rosa Parks from 1965 until her retirement in 1988.

In 2005, Conyers was among 11 people inducted to the International Civil Rights Walk of Fame, Sir Hilary said.

“We will sorely miss Congressman Conyers, but we can rest assured that his glorious legacy will live on as an inspiration to future generations,” he said. “May he rest in peace and power!”