Conyers, a Democrat, represented Michigan in the U.S. House of Representatives for over 50 years, from 1965 to 2017. A native of Detroit, he began his long career of public service in 1948, when he joined his state’s national guard before entering the U.S. Army.

According to FOX 2 Detroit, Conyers participated in the voter’s registration drive in Selma, Alabama during the African American civil rights movement. He would later co-sponsor the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and also push for a federal holiday recognizing the contributions of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Conyers was among the founders of the Congressional Black Caucus and the first black congressperson to serve as a member and later a chair of the House Judiciary Committee, according to Buzzfeed News. With a tenure spanning almost 53 years, he was the longest-serving African American in congressional history and the sixth-longest serving congressperson overall.

When Conyers resigned from his position in 2017, it was during a probe by the House Ethics Committee into his behavior that followed allegations from several women that Conyers had sexually harassed them. Buzzfeed News reported that he was the first member of Congress to face backlash for his alleged actions in light of the #MeToo movement. Conyers maintained that the allegations were false.

The former congressman is survived by his wife and two sons, according to The Associated Press.

Reactions to Conyers’ death on social media mostly regarded his long career as a politician.

Representative Debbie Dingell, who represents Michigan’s 12th congressional district, tweeted her condolences and also said that Conyers’s deeds would “be remembered for generations.”

Representative Rashida Tlaib, who currently represents Conyers’s former district (Michigan’s 13th), tweeted a thanks to the congressman for his long commitment to civil rights.

Representative Steve Cohen of Tennessee also lauded Conyers’s achievements, and called the late congressman his mentor.

Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland said he was proud to work with Conyers to attempt to end racial profiling by the police.

The NAACP offered praise of Conyers, calling him “a congressional pioneer, a political giant and strong advocate for the African American community.”

The esteemed author and professor Michael Eric Dyson also shared on Twitter that he knew the congressman since his youth.

And the Reverend Al Sharpton recalled of Conyers’ activism in leading the push for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday.

A post shared by Rev. Al Sharpton (@real_sharpton) on Oct 27, 2019 at 1:55pm PDT