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President
Joe
Biden
talks
with
Rep.
Sheila
Jackson
Lee,
D-Texas,
after
the
State of
the
Union
address
to a
joint
session
of
Congress
at the
Capitol,
Tuesday,
Feb. 7,
2023, in
Washington.
Jacquelyn
Martin/Pool
via
REUTERS/File
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Sheila
Jackson
Lee,
strong
Democratic
voice in
US
Congress,
dies at
74
By
Surbhi
Misra
4–5
minutes
Item
2 of 2
[2/2]President
Joe
Biden
talks
with
Rep.
Sheila
Jackson
Lee,
D-Texas,
after
the
State of
the
Union
address
to a
joint
session
of
Congress
at the
Capitol,
Tuesday,
Feb. 7,
2023, in
Washington.
Jacquelyn
Martin/Pool
via
REUTERS/File
Photo
Purchase
Licensing
Rights,
opens
new tab
July
19
(Reuters)
- U.S.
Representative
Sheila
Jackson
Lee, a
prominent
progressive
voice in
the
Democratic
Party
who was
outspoken
on
African
American
and
women's
rights,
has
died,
her
family
posted
on X
late on
Friday.
Jackson
Lee of
Texas
announced
last
month
she had
pancreatic
cancer
and was
undergoing
treatment.
She was
74,
according
to U.S.
media.
"The
road
ahead
will not
be easy,
but I
stand in
faith
that God
will
strengthen
me,"
Jackson
Lee, the
chief
deputy
whip in
the
House of
Representatives,
said in
announcing
the
diagnosis.
"A
fierce
champion
of the
people,
she was
affectionately
and
simply
known as
'Congresswoman'
by her
constituents
in
recognition
of her
near-ubiquitous
presence
and
service
to their
daily
lives
for more
than 30
years,"
her
family
said in
the
statement.
The
15-term
representative,
a
graduate
of Yale
College
and the
University
of
Virginia
Law
School,
was
active
throughout
her
career
in
promoting
legislation
aimed at
addressing
social
justice,
economic
inequality
and
public
health
concerns.
Jackson
Lee, who
represented
parts of
Houston,
introduced
legislation
in the
House to
make
"Juneteenth"
a
federal
holiday
commemorating
the end
of the
legal
enslavement
of Black
Americans.
The
holiday
marks
the day
in 1865
when a
Union
general
informed
a group
of
enslaved
people
in Texas
that
they had
been
made
free two
years
earlier
by
President
Abraham
Lincoln's
Emancipation
Proclamation
during
the
Civil
War.
Jackson
Lee was
a vocal
proponent
of
police
reform
in the
face of
congressional
roadblocks
after
the 2020
police
killing
of
George
Floyd, a
Black
man
whose
death
sparked
nationwide
protests.
Fellow
Democrat
Brendan
Boyle,
ranking
member
of the
House
Budget
Committee
on which
she
served,
called
her "a
fierce
advocate
for the
people
of
Houston
and for
racial
and
economic
justice
everywhere."
"The
Congresswoman
will be
truly
missed
by all
of us
who
served
alongside
her," he
said in
a
statement.
Jackson
Lee also
served
on the
judiciary
and
homeland
security
committees.
Jasmine
Crockett,
like
Jackson
Lee an
African
American
representative
from
Texas
but in
her
first
term,
posted
on X:
"I'm at
a loss
for
words so
I'll
just say
rest
easy, my
friend,
Congresswoman
Sheila
Jackson
Lee."
There
were
also
tributes
for
Jackson
Lee from
some
Texans
at the
other
end of
the
political
spectrum.
Governor
Greg
Abbott,
a
conservative
Republican,
posted
on X
that his
wife
"Cecilia
and I
will
forever
remember
Congresswoman
Sheila
Jackson
Lee,"
adding
that
"her
legacy
of
public
service
and
dedication
to Texas
will
live
on."
U.S.
Senator
Ted Cruz
posted:
"I'm
deeply
saddened
by the
passing
of my
friend &
colleague
Sheila
Jackson
Lee. She
was a
tireless
advocate
for
Houston."
Jackson
Lee
considered
leaving
Congress
in 2023
in a bid
to
become
Houston's
first
female
Black
mayor,
but was
defeated
in a
run-off.
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