About this item
Highlights
- In this moving work, part clear-eyed assessment, part memoir, the son of iconic African American Congressman John Conyers Jr. shines a spotlight on his father and his political legacy, and reveals how, as his son, he eventually learned to leverage his own voice in a world that his father helped create.A respectful, thoughtful, yet clear-eyed reframing of a national hero's personal and political odyssey, My Father's House is John Conyers III's love letter to his father and a record of his own journey.
- Author(s): John Conyers III
- 272 Pages
- Biography + Autobiography, Cultural, Ethnic & Regional
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About the Book
"My Father's House is both a biography of iconic African-American Congressman John Conyers Jr. and his more than half-century of groundbreaking legislation, and a son's memoir of leveraging his own voice in a world that his father helped create"-- Provided by publisher.Book Synopsis
In this moving work, part clear-eyed assessment, part memoir, the son of iconic African American Congressman John Conyers Jr. shines a spotlight on his father and his political legacy, and reveals how, as his son, he eventually learned to leverage his own voice in a world that his father helped create.
A respectful, thoughtful, yet clear-eyed reframing of a national hero's personal and political odyssey, My Father's House is John Conyers III's love letter to his father and a record of his own journey. Conyers reveals a towering figure in modern American political history and an ordinary family man; a leader whose work in Washington necessitated his many absences as a father from a son coming of age in Detroit.
John Conyers III introduces us to John James Conyers, Jr. the legislator, who changed lives and made history, and of his equity-focused work that remains to be done. We meet Conyers the politician and mentor who worked with and counselled a network of powerbrokers--often from the family home on Seven Mile Road in the Motor City--including President Bill Clinton, Congressmen Adam Clayton Powell Jr., Charlie Rangel, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, the Reverend Jesse Jackson, feminist Gloria Steinem, entertainer-activists Harry Belafonte, Berry Gordy, Stevie Wonder, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Chris Tucker and a slew of other players in Washington, DC, and across the nation.
A resonant political, historical, and family story, My Father's House explores how John James Conyers, Jr., was at once a man of deep and abiding spiritual faith, human talents, and human weaknesses. As he places his father among this land's greatest lawmakers, he also demystifies and grounds the Civil Rights giants of that era, reminding us of their noble yet deeply flawed humanity. This exploration of John James Conyers, Jr., told through John Conyers III's eyes and experiences, is essential to a thorough understanding of modern U.S. politics and the cultures and human lives it continues to shape.
My Father's House includes a black-and-white photo insert.
Review Quotes
"Congressman John Conyers Jr. was a towering figure in American politics, a relentless advocate for justice and equality whose impact spanned generations. In My Father's House, John Conyers III offers a deeply honest account of what it means to carry his father's iconic legacy while forging his own path... John's ability to bridge the personal and political makes him a voice we should all be paying attention to. This is more than a memoir--it's a call to action for generational change and a roadmap for leadership that future generations can look to." -- Anthony Scaramucci, Founder of SkyBridge Capital and former White House Communications Director
"Urgent and packed with historical resonance, My Father's House is a memoir that will stand the test of time." -- Bakari Sellers, New York Times Bestselling author of My Vanishing Country and The Moment
"It's not an easy assignment to capture a legacy of this magnitude, but John Conyers III brilliantly contextualizes his father's enormous, historical imprint with humanity and vulnerability. It is not so much a memoir as it is a love letter that allows us an intimate look into a cherished and tender relationship between father and son, and between a dedicated public servant and his city." -- Jemele Hill, Author and contributing writer for The Atlantic
Conyers III's My Father's House is a beautifully written book about the life and career of a remarkable man, penned by a devoted son who's following in his father's giant footsteps. John Conyers Jr.'s uniquely American journey from Detroit's striving Black Bottom community to the dean of the U.S. House of Representatives is full of heroics, heartbreaks, and history. If you visit my old friend's remarkable house and witness his lasting legacies and "unbridled imaginings," you'll emerge wiser and more grateful for a world where good people get up every day to work toward better tomorrows for all of us.
-- President Bill Clinton
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