In 1969, Owens worked with a group of other New York librarians, including Miriam Braverman, Anne Littlejohn, Betty-Carol Sellen, Joan Marshall, Hardy R. Franklin, Pat Schuman, Andrew Armitage, and Mitch Freedman, to establish the New York Social Responsibilities Round Table.

In 1987, Owens was awarded the American Library Association Honorary Membership, its highest honor.

[5] After serving in this position for approximately five years, he successfully ran for and was elected to the New York Senate.

In Congress, he worked closely with American Disability activist Justin Whitlock Dart who often was visiting his office in Capitol Hill and provided testimony before Owen's Subcommittee on Select Education in the House, during the late 1980s and early 1990s, prior to the passage of the ADA when it was being heatedly debated.

[7] Owens served as floor manager of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and aided in its enactment.

[11][12] In 2006, Owens decided to not pursue re-election and retired from Congress, thereby ending his political career.

During his time at the John W. Kluge Center, Owens's work focused "on a case study of the Congressional Black Caucus and its impact on national politics.

"[13] Owens used his time at the Kluge Center to research and write his book The Peacock Elite: A Subjective Case Study of the Congressional Black Caucus and Its Impact on National Politics, which was published in 2011.

[14] Owens served as a senior fellow for the DuBois-Bunche Center for Public Policy at Medgar Evers College.