The Peacock Elite: A Subjective Case Study Of The Congressional Black Caucus and Its Impact on National Politics
New York: GrantHouse Publishers, 2011. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Hardcover. xviii, 327, [5] pages. Illustrations. Chronology. References. Bibliography. Index. Signed and dated by the author on the half-title page. Major Robert Odell Owens (June 28, 1936 – October 21, 2013) was an American politician and librarian who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1983 to 2007, representing the New York's 11th and then 12th Congressional district. He was first elected to replace retiring Representative Shirley Chisholm. Owens shepherded the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 through the House. He retired at the end of his term in January 2007 and was succeeded by Yvette Clarke. Owens began his career in librarianship. After obtaining his master's degree, Owens settled in Brooklyn, New York and began his career as a librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library from 1958 through the late 1960s. Although having moved from his career in librarianship into his political career, in 1979 and 1991, Owens was a featured speaker at the White House Conference on Libraries sponsored by the National Commission on Libraries and Information Science. In 1996, Owens received the American Library Association's highest honor—honorary membership. He was appointed a distinguished visiting scholar at The Library of Congress's John W. Kluge Center for 2007, upon his retirement from Congress. Owens researched and wrote his book “The Peacock Elite: A Case Study of the Congressional Black Caucus” while at the Kluge Center. The book traces the history of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and offers a blueprint for the caucus’s future. More