Major Owens

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Major Robert Odell Owens (June 28, 1936 – October 21, 2013) was an American politician and librarian who represented Brooklyn in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007. He served first in the 12th district (1983–1993) and then in the 11th district (1993–2007). Owens was known as “The Librarian in Congress” for his lifelong focus on libraries and education.

Early life and education
- Born in Collierville, Tennessee, Owens grew up in Memphis. His father worked in a furniture factory.
- He earned a BA from Morehouse College in 1956 and an MS in library science from Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University) in 1957.
- He moved to Brooklyn, New York, and worked as a librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library from 1958 into the late 1960s. He became known for placing library collections in common public spaces to improve access.

Public service and politics
- Owens helped organize librarians and civil rights groups, including the New York Social Responsibilities Round Table (1969), and he was active in movements for civil rights and education access.
- Mayor John Lindsay appointed him commissioner of New York City’s Community Development Agency in 1968, a post he held for about five years.
- He served in the New York State Senate from 1975 to 1982.
- In 1982 he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives to replace retiring Shirley Chisholm, serving Brooklyn in Congress until 2007. As a congressman, he focused on library funding, education, and disability rights.
- Owens helped shepherd the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) through the House and worked with disability advocate Justin Dart during the debate over the law.
- He was a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus and earned high marks on middle-class issues from the Drum Major Institute in 2005.

Retirement and later life
- Owens announced his retirement in 2006 and left Congress in January 2007. Yvette Clarke succeeded him.
- He was named a distinguished visiting scholar at the John W. Kluge Center, starting in January 2007, where he studied the impact of the Congressional Black Caucus and wrote The Peacock Elite: A Subjective Case Study of the Congressional Black Caucus and Its Impact on National Politics (2011).
- He later served as a senior fellow at Medgar Evers College’s DuBois-Bunche Center for Public Policy.

Personal life
- Owens was married twice. His first wife, Ethel Werfel, died after 25 years of marriage; they had three sons: Chris Owens, Geoffrey Owens, and Millard Owens.
- He married Maria A. Cuprill (Maria Owens), with whom he had two more children, making five in total.
- Major Owens died in New York City on October 21, 2013, from congestive heart failure at the age of 77.