While it might take longer than two-and-a-half hours to summarize all that Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D) has done in her more than six-decade career and nearly 35 years on Capitol Hill, politicians, community leaders and District residents gathered on Oct. 25 to honor her longtime leadership and advocacy for people across D.C. and the nation.
The Eleanor Holmes Norton Legacy Fund (EHNLF) held its annual event to raise scholarship funds for female students at the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) David A. Clarke School of Law, at The Potomac Hotel in Southwest D.C. However, this year’s luncheon was particularly special because the nonprofit organization honored its namesake for her trailblazing work, which started far before she was given the title: “Warrior on the Hill.”
“As the first woman to chair the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), Eleanor broke barriers and opened doors for many. It was thrilling to welcome Eleanor to Congress and work with her as she led the fight for women’s rights, equal rights, and human rights,” said Rep. Nancy Pelosi in a recorded video played during “A Salute to Our Warrior on the Hill: Honoring the Legacy of the Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton.” “In Congress, Eleanor has been a relentless champion for the people of the District of Columbia, demanding the full representation and equal rights they deserve.”
The former House speaker was one just one of many politicians and local leaders who paid tribute to Norton— who was present for the event— and her years as of service as: a member of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Commission (SNCC), helping to organize the March on Washington, an attorney, a barrier-breaking leader with EEOC, and as a delegate whose lack of vote never silenced her voice on Capitol Hill.
“Eleanor Holmes Norton, is a giant in American history,” Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), told the crowded hotel ballroom. “I’ve had the honor of serving with Eleanor for 35 years. She’s a young person, so she came 10 years after I went into Congress.”
At 87 and 89, respectively, Hoyer and Norton are stepping down from their service in the House, ushering a new generation of congressional leaders for the District and Maryalnd.
“People are asking, ‘Why are we retiring? I get that all the time. And my response is, ‘I did not think that 87 was a premature retirement,’” Hoyer continued. “But I am sorry to [see you] retire, because the country needs more leaders like Eleanor Holmes Norton.”
As she prepares to step down, Councilmember Robert White (D-At-large), the Democratic candidate for D.C. delegate, honored her years of service on the Hill, something he once got to witness up-close as a member of her Hill staff.
“What I found out in the five years that I got to work with Congresswoman Norton is how passionate she is about the city, how selfless she has always been about our city, and that she is going to put every single thing on the line every day to get there,” he said. “Eleanor Holmes Norton has blazed more trails than most of us will ever even walk.”
Hoping to soon walk in Norton’s footsteps, the council member looked toward the future, particularly with the Nov. 3 midterm elections a bit more than a week away.
“I believe that the greatest tribute to a great leader is to build on the legacy that they did. So as we look to the election day… I think there’s going to be a sweep across the nation. And it is so important that we know that it is not just because of the evilness we’re seeing on one side of the aisle,” White told the 250 luncheon guests. “It is because of the sustained work of people like Eleanor Holmes Norton and Steny Hoyer that have built the platform that people are now believing in.”
Preparing the Next Generation of Scholars, Changemakers
As attendees enjoyed the three-course luncheon, sounds of the Davey Yarborough Ensemble featuring Esther Williams, and a tribute performance from Joe Coleman of The Platters, they also contributed to a greater cause: raising funds for not just female aspiring attorneys, but budding changemakers.
“We are building the next generation of ‘Warriors on the Hill,’ women who will pursue careers that will exemplify the Congresswoman’s activism and service,” said EHNLF President Hazel Bland Thomas in a statement.
Throughout the event, speakers celebrated the work of the fund— started in 2018— through spotlighting contributions and people who have benefited from the scholarship and gone on to do great work, such as Kadian Townsend.
“I think it’s important to see the manifestation of your contributions and your investment,” Townsend, a former EHNLF scholarship recipient, who graduated from UDC David A. Clarke School of Law in 2022. “It’s not just writing a check. You’re actually impacting lives.”
The Jamaican-born attorney and daughter of a single mother received the EHNLF scholarship during her second year in law school, during what she said was a critical time for her family.
“My mom had to retire to take care of my late grandmother who passed away from cancer. And receiving that a scholarship was a tremendous help to me. So I just personally want to say, congresswoman, thank you so much for selecting me for your scholarship. It was an immense help,” she told Norton. “Your investment in me, the organization and the donors, it did not go in vain.”
Five years later, she is managing attorney at Townsend Law Firm, and was recently named one of the “Best Lawyers in America: Ones to Watch (2026 and 2027)” as well as Washington Bar Association’s Power 100 Young Lawyers.
Considering Norton’s work and influence, Townsend, who was also celebrating her birthday on Oct. 25, offered a charge for this year’s EHNLF awardees and all the potential change agents present for the Sunday afternoon affair.
“I just want to say to the younger generation of lawyers and politicians and changemakers, you know, we have an exceptional example and it is our duty to category, to carry it with audacity and courage and vigor and excitement for what the future holds,” she said.
In a video statement, Maryland Gov. Wes Moore (D) celebrated the work of the legacy fund, which hopes to continue work in Norton’s honor even after she wraps her time on the Hill on Jan. 3.
“She’s fought for justice, civil rights, and the people of D.C.,” Moore said in a recorded statement. “She broke barriers so others could actually walk through them. And her legacy fund turns that walk into a run.”
Looking Toward the Future
While the delegate did not speak during the event, attendees got to take in highlights from Norton’s nearly 35-year career in the House in a tribute video that spotlighted powerful moments of her speaking on the House floor, advocating for statehood, and fighting for District residents.
“The District of Columbia has spent 206 years yielding to people who would deny them the vote, I yield you no ground,” Norton declared in a 2007 excerpt included in the video.
Although D.C. residents are preparing for new leadership, the event also highlighted ways to build on Norton’s legacy, particularly her commitment to achieving D.C. statehood.
“We must continue the fight until statehood is secured,” Pelosi said.
With work happening across the Democratic Party to take control of Congress as a result of the upcoming midterms, White is optimistic about the possibility of the District becoming the 51st state.
“I believe that because of the redistricting battles that these folks have kicked off, they have created a national opening for people across the nation to finally understand that D.C. statehood isn’t just important to us. It is important for the control of Congress,” he said. “ If the Democrats, again, get the House, the Senate, and the White House, they have to make D.C. a state— get two Democratic senators, and a voting member of the House, in the District of Columbia. We will achieve it in our lifetime, but it will not be because of the brother walking into the sea, it will be because of the work that the sister, leaving the sea, has done for the past three and a half decades.”
Hoping to succeed her in the House in January, White acknowledged many of the ways Norton has contributed to D.C. and the nation.
“If you are at The Wharf or you are at Navy Yard, if you are able at Walter Reid, Hill East, you name it, it is because of [Norton]. If you know a Black woman on the bench named Ketanji Brown Jackson, you may or may not know that she was on the federal bench by Eleanor Holmes Norton… The D.C. TAG scholarship, the list goes on,” he said. “The good new is, I don’t have to replicate what Eleanor Holmes Norton has done, because I can’t.”
However, White has high hopes of building on Norton’s legacy.
“It is because of Congresswoman Norton that anything I do today that is successful; I learned those strategies and tactics from her,” he continued. “Congresswoman Norton, I know you have a whole lot of people who stand on your shoulders, and I thank you for those strong shoulders and everything that you’ve done for our sake.”
As he and Norton wrap up their last couple of months in Congress, Hoyer saluted his longtime colleague and friend.
“Few of us in this world know somebody who has stood up or spoken of, more courageously and effectively than Eleanor Holmes Norton,” said the former House Majority Leader. “The District of Columbia is better for the service of Eleanor Holmes Norton.”
