I didn’t realize how beloved my Congressman was nationally until he died, and friends from around the country sent condolences and praise my way, simply because I am a Baltimorean. Everyone could see his brilliance and decency. Looking back through the Sun archive, I realized I’d had the good fortune to photograph U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings more than two dozen times. Every time I had an assignment where he was to deliver a speech, I knew I might be teary-eyed before he was finished. His face was as expressive and kind and expansive as his soul. Chronologically, these photos range from an appearance at the National Press Club in Aug. 2019, to 2004, when he accompanied some guy from Chicago with a funny name to a fundraiser, to 1996, when he ran for Congress, to replace Kweisi Mfume in the Seventh District. It was a privilege to document this extraordinary leader.
