Major Robert Odell Owens

Congressman Major Owens represented congressional districts in New York from 1983 to 2007 (98th-110th Congresses). Trained as a librarian, Owens began his career at the Brooklyn Public Library. He became active in the Congress of Racial Equality and other community groups. Owens later served in the New York State Senate, where he chaired the Senate Democratic Operations Committee. In Congress, Owens became known as “The Librarian in Congress” because of his advocacy for and in support of library funding and education issues, particularly public libraries, school libraries, and librarianship. He also shepherded the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 through the House, serving as floor manager and working tirelessly to see its enactment. Following his retirement, the Librarian of Congress announced that Owens would be appointed as a distinguished visiting scholar at The John W. Kluge Center. During his time at The Kluge Center, Owens’s work focused on a case study of the Congressional Black Caucus and its impact on national politics. This work culminated in his book, The Peacock Elite: A Subjective Case Study of the Congressional Black Caucus and Its Impact on National Politics (2011). He also was a senior fellow for the DuBois-Bunche Center for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College. Owens received a bachelor’s degree from Morehouse College and a master’s degree in Library Science from Atlanta University, now known as Clark Atlanta.