Family, friends and former colleagues of the late U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings came together Friday to rename an Irvington post office in his honor.

Cummings, a Democrat, served as U.S. representative for Maryland’s 7th District for 12 terms, representing portions of Baltimore, Baltimore County and Howard County during his tenure.

The dedication ceremony was held at Green Street Academy’s Elijah E. Cummings Innovation Center. The academy occupies the building that once was Cummings’ middle school in the neighborhood where he grew up and close to where Cummings, who died in 2019, is buried.

“Just as a post office is the center of a community, so was Elijah,” said Ivan Butts, president of the National Association of Postal Supervisors. “Let that post office serve as a beacon of light on what it means to serve.”

Dozens of former colleagues, family members and students in the Elijah Cummings Youth Program attended the ceremony, listening to each speaker as they honored the late congressman.

“It’s symbolic in this neighborhood to show just what you can become,” said Carla Farrington, who was Cummings’ political director. “He was a hard worker, and this really is a tribute to him.”

His daughter, Jennifer Cummings, spoke of her father’s mission and dedication to public service.

“It speaks to a man who held in high regard all government workers, including postal employees,” she said. “He respected their work and their humanity, and saw the Postal Service as one of the essential threads that binds our nation together.”

U.S. Rep. Kweisi Mfume, U.S. Sen. Chris Van Hollen and former U.S. Sen. Ben Cardin, all Democrats, introduced legislation to rename the facility. It passed the House and Senate in December 2024. Then-President Joe Biden signed it into law shortly before leaving office in January this year.

Hanging over the ceremony was President Donald Trump, who during his first term in office sparred with Cummings as the congressman led a committee investigating the administration.

Van Hollen acknowledged the symbolism of renaming the site during Trump’s second term.

“In 2019, he said, ‘Always ask yourself what you’ve done to help preserve, save and advance democracy’,” Van Hollen said. “Those words, that call to action, are more important than ever today, more than it’s ever been, because the Trump administration is tearing down those principles and trying to reverse much of the progress we make.”

Cummings was known for his passionate advocacy for voting and civil rights, his dedication to empowering working-class communities of color and speaking out against the Trump administration’s seeking to add a citizenship question to the Census during the president’s first term.

Cummings also served as chairman of the House Oversight Committee, responsible for investigating the administration. In that role, he helped launch impeachment proceedings against Trump.

In July 2019, Trump lashed out against Cummings in a widely spread social media post calling the congressman’s district “a disgusting, rat and rodent infested mess.”

This sparked outrage locally and nationally as people voiced their support for Cummings and his dedication to the needs of communities of color. His firm but respectful spirit lives on in his legacy in the youth programs and in those he interacted with.

“When a democracy is under attack from the Office of the President, who better than to lift back up into the memory of this country the person who was the conscience of the Congress,” said Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott, who knew Cummings as his mentor and aspiration.