(Reuters) -U.S. Consultant Sheila Jackson Lee, a powerful progressive voice within the Democratic Occasion who was outspoken on African-American and ladies’s rights, has died, her household posted on X late on Friday.
Jackson Lee of Texas introduced final month she had pancreatic most cancers and was present process remedy. She was 74, in accordance with U.S. media.
“The street forward is not going to be simple, however I stand in religion that God will strengthen me,” she mentioned in asserting the prognosis.
“A fierce champion of the folks, she was affectionately and easily generally known as ‘Congresswoman’ by her constituents in recognition of her near-ubiquitous presence and repair to their day by day lives for greater than 30 years,” her household mentioned within the assertion.
She was energetic all through her profession in selling laws aimed toward addressing social justice, financial inequality and public well being issues.
Jackson Lee, who represented components of Houston, launched a laws within the Home of Representatives to make “Juneteenth” a federal vacation commemorating the tip of the authorized enslavement of Black Individuals.
The vacation marks the day in 1865 when a Union normal knowledgeable a gaggle of enslaved folks in Texas that they’d been made free two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation throughout the Civil Struggle.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott, a conservative Republican, posted on X that his spouse “Cecilia and I’ll endlessly keep in mind Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee.
“She was a proud Texan and a tireless advocate for the folks of Houston. Her legacy of public service and dedication to Texas will reside on,” Abbott mentioned.
Jackson Lee served on a number of Home committees, together with judiciary, homeland safety and price range.
