On February 17—to celebrate Black History Month—the U.S. Capitol Historical Society will co-host a webinar with the Levin Center as it continues to release its “Portraits in Oversight,” this time examining the life and career of Representative Elijah Cummings, whose former staffers will discuss his legacy. Each profile has featured a panel of experts who describe important congressional investigations and trace the work of key figures in the history of legislative oversight.

For 23 years, Cummings, the son of sharecroppers, represented Maryland’s 7th district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Elected in 1996, he served on the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform from his earliest days in Congress until his death in 2019, becoming its Ranking Minority Member in December 2010 and Committee Chair in his last year. During his committee tenure, Rep. Cummings participated in a wide range of high-profile investigations, from inquiries into high-priced prescription drugs that put health care out of reach for average families, to the attack on the U.S. embassy in Benghazi, to the separation of families at the U.S. border.