This post is part of the Kluge Center’s 25 for 25, in honor of the Kluge Center’s 25th anniversary, celebrating 25 books that were written thanks to the Kluge Center’s support. Read the introductory post to the series here.
Major Robert Odell Owens (1936-2013) was an American politician, civil rights activist, and the only professional librarian elected to the House of Representatives. He served as a New York State Senator from 1975 to 1982 and as a Representative for the 11th and later 12th Congressional Districts of New York State from 1982 to 2006. Owens championed education and libraries and was instrumental in helping pass the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act through the House of Representatives. He also served as a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) for over a decade.
In 2006, Owens retired from Congress, expressing a desire to write novels and plays. Shortly after, then-Librarian of Congress James H. Billington named Owens a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the John W. Kluge Center, where he wrote The Peacock Elite: A Case Study of the Congressional Black Caucus (GrantHouse Publishers, 2011). Drawing on his many years of membership, Owens offered a rare insider’s account of the CBC’s structure, accomplishments, shortcomings, and potential.
Founded in 1971 by the thirteen Black members of the 92nd Congress, the Congressional Black Caucus’s original mission was to ensure Black and marginalized Americans could achieve the American Dream. The group’s formation was a major milestone for Black members of Congress. Owens recalls that the first Black man elected to Congress, John W. Menard, was denied his seat despite winning by a large majority in 1869. Segregation barred Congressman Adam Clayton Powell from eating in the House of Representatives Dining Room until after 1965. The first Black woman representative, and founding member of the CBC, Shirley Chisholm, did not take office until 53 years after the first white woman representative. Today, Black members of Congress still face challenges, but they also wield significant influence, power, and visibility, much of it derived from the collective efforts of the CBC, Owens argues.
The title of Owens’ book is a reference to some of the dynamics and characters seen in the Caucus. “Peacocks,” as he describes them, are members adept at gaining the spotlight and attention. In contrast, he also describes “workhorses,” that is, those who quietly and tirelessly work without seeking recognition. Owens appreciates a balance between both styles, noting that good ideas and a moral agenda are important, as is the ability “to strut across the public stage.” One style without the other cannot be successful. However, he warns that unchecked “peacock” characteristics can devolve into destructive self-promotion.
Owens analyzes how the CBC’s performance from 1983 to 2006 aligned with its founding mission. Owens’ greatest disappointment was that the CBC had not articulated a clear agenda and long-term plan. Too often, the CBC responded reactively to crises or advanced piecemeal legislation, he says, rather than pursuing a coordinated strategy for systemic change. This led to some blunders, such as what he viewed as inadequate responses to Hurricane Katrina, which disproportionately affected poor African Americans. He urges the CBC to develop a plan that focuses on economic opportunity, education, and health policy and to play a more active role in organizing Black communities beyond the legislative sphere.
Still, Owens recognizes the CBC’s many achievements. He highlights, for example, the Caucus’s influence in supporting the restoration of democracy in Haiti. CBC members, he recounts, were among those who persuaded President Clinton to provide a military escort to President Aristide, who had been ousted and exiled by a coup, allowing him to return to his role in 1994.
Owens completed the manuscript in 2007, and it was published in 2011. In his foreword, written after the 2008 election of Barack Obama, Owens celebrates the historic moment while stressing that the CBC’s mission remains vital. As he noted in his prologue, even as representation in government has increased, the “misery index,” the measurement of unemployment, health, housing, education, incarceration, and poverty among Black Americans, has not declined. Owens, who passed away in 2013, viewed the CBC as an essential organization and was hopeful that it could advance civil rights and improve the lives of everyday Black Americans.
Owens wrote The Peacock Elite during his time at the Library of Congress in 2007. While in residence, he organized a panel discussion including elected representatives, political scientists, and several ambassadors.
You can watch Owens’ panel here or read more about his work here.
This post, and others in this series, does not constitute the Library’s endorsement of the views of the individual scholar or an endorsement of the publisher.