Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who helped lead federal efforts to guard girls from home violence and acknowledge Juneteenth as a nationwide vacation, has died. She was 74.
Lillie Conley, her chief of workers, confirmed that Jackson Lee, who had pancreatic most cancers, died in Houston Friday evening along with her household round her.
The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation’s fourth-largest metropolis since 1995. She had beforehand had breast most cancers and introduced the pancreatic most cancers prognosis on June 2.
“The street forward is not going to be simple, however I stand in religion that God will strengthen me,” Jackson Lee mentioned in a press release then.
Jackson Lee was “a towering determine in our politics,” President Joe Biden mentioned in a press release Saturday. “All the time fearless, she spoke reality to energy and represented the facility of the folks of her district in Houston with dignity and beauty.”
Biden mentioned Jackson Lee’s spirit was unbreakable.
FILE – Mayoral candidate U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee speaks to supporters throughout an election watch social gathering, Nov. 7, 2023, at Bayou Place in Houston. Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who helped lead federal efforts to guard girls from home violence and acknowledge Juneteenth as a nationwide vacation, has died Friday, July 19, 2024, after battling pancreatic most cancers, in line with her chief of workers. (Jason Fochtman/Houston Chronicle by way of AP, File)
“I had the consideration of working along with her throughout her practically 30 years in Congress,” Biden mentioned. “Regardless of the difficulty — from delivering racial justice to constructing an financial system for working folks — she was unrelenting in her management.”
Bishop James Dixon, a longtime buddy in Houston who visited Jackson Lee earlier this week, mentioned he’ll keep in mind her as a fighter.
“She was only a uncommon, uncommon jewel of an individual who relentlessly gave every little thing she had to verify others had what they wanted. That was Sheila,” he mentioned.
FILE – U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, heart, D-Texas, speaks throughout an immigration rally in Guadalupe Plaza in Houston, Texas, April 10, 2006. Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who helped lead federal efforts to guard girls from home violence and acknowledge Juneteenth as a nationwide vacation, has died Friday, July 19, 2024, after battling pancreatic most cancers, in line with her chief of workers. (AP Picture/Donna Carson, File)
Jackson Lee had simply been elected to the Houston district as soon as represented by Barbara Jordan, the primary Black lady elected to Congress from a Southern state since Reconstruction, when she was instantly positioned on the high-profile Home Judiciary Committee in 1995.
“They simply noticed me, I suppose via my profile, via Barbara Jordan’s work,” Jackson Lee advised the Houston Chronicle in 2022. “I assumed it was an honor as a result of they assumed I used to be going to be the individual they wanted.”
Jackson Lee shortly established herself as fierce advocate for ladies and minorities, and a pacesetter for Home Democrats on many social justice points, from policing reform to reparations for descendants of enslaved folks. She led the primary rewrite of the Violence Towards Ladies Act in practically a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender and immigrant girls.
FILE – From left, Majority Whip James Clyburn, D-S.C., Rep. Al Inexperienced, D-Texas, Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Tex., Speaker of the Home Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Rep. Joyce Beatty, D-Ohio, Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., and members of the Congressional Black Caucus have a good time the passage of the Juneteenth Nationwide Independence Day Act, on the Capitol in Washington, June 17, 2021. Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who helped lead federal efforts to guard girls from home violence and acknowledge Juneteenth as a nationwide vacation, has died Friday, July 19, 2024, after battling pancreatic most cancers, in line with her chief of workers. (AP Picture/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
Jackson Lee was additionally among the many lead lawmakers behind the hassle in 2021 to have Juneteenth acknowledged as the primary new federal vacation since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established in 1986. The vacation marks the day in 1865 that the final enslaved African Individuals in Galveston, Texas, lastly realized of their freedom.
A local of Queens, New York, Jackson Lee graduated from Yale and earned her legislation diploma on the College of Virginia. She was a choose in Houston earlier than she was elected to Houston Metropolis Council in 1989, then ran for Congress in 1994. She was an advocate for homosexual rights and an early opponent of the Iraq Warfare in 2003.
Prime congressional Democrats reacted shortly to the information Friday evening, praising her dedication and work ethic.
Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina known as her “a tenacious advocate for civil rights and a tireless fighter, bettering the lives of her constituents.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland mentioned he had by no means identified a harder-working lawmaker than Jackson Lee, saying she “studied each invoice and each modification with exactitude after which advised Texas and America precisely the place she stood.”
Former Home Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California cited Jackson Lee’s “relentless willpower” in getting Juneteenth declared a nationwide vacation.
FILE – Rep. Shelia Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks throughout a Home Judiciary Committee assembly, Dec. 13, 2019, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who helped lead federal efforts to guard girls from home violence and acknowledge Juneteenth as a nationwide vacation, has died Friday, July 19, 2024, after battling pancreatic most cancers, in line with her chief of workers. (AP Picture/Patrick Semansky, Pool, File)
“As a robust voice within the Congress for our Structure and human rights, she fought tirelessly to advance equity, fairness and justice for all,” Pelosi mentioned.
Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbott mentioned he and his spouse Cecilia will at all times keep in mind Jackson Lee, calling her a “tireless advocate for the folks of Houston.”
“Her legacy of public service and dedication to Texas will reside on,” he mentioned.
Jackson Lee routinely received reelection to Congress with ease. The few occasions she confronted a challenger, she by no means carried lower than two-thirds of the vote. Jackson Lee thought of leaving Congress in 2023 in a bid to develop into Houston’s first feminine Black mayor however was defeated in a runoff. She then simply received the Democratic nomination for the 2024 normal election.
Through the mayoral marketing campaign, Jackson Lee expressed remorse and mentioned “everybody deserves to be handled with dignity and respect” following the discharge of an unverified audio recording presupposed to be of the lawmaker berating workers members.
FILE – Supreme Courtroom nominee Choose Ketanji Brown Jackson, proper, talks with Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, throughout a break in Jackson’s affirmation listening to earlier than the Senate Judiciary Committee, March 21, 2022, on Capitol Hill in Washington. Longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who helped lead federal efforts to guard girls from home violence and acknowledge Juneteenth as a nationwide vacation, has died Friday, July 19, 2024, after battling pancreatic most cancers, in line with her chief of workers. (AP Picture/Jacquelyn Martin, File)
In 2019, Jackson Lee stepped down from two management positions on the Home Judiciary Committee and Congressional Black Caucus Basis, the fundraising of the Congressional Black Caucus, following a lawsuit from a former worker who mentioned her sexual assault criticism was mishandled.
In a press release, Jackson Lee’s household mentioned she had been a beloved spouse, sister, mom and grandmother referred to as Bebe.
“She might be dearly missed, however her legacy will proceed to encourage all who consider in freedom, justice, and democracy,” the assertion mentioned. “God bless you Congresswoman and God bless america of America.”
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Related Press author Lou Kesten contributed to this story from Washington.