Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee dies at 74, family says | US News

U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a strong progressive voice in the Democratic Party who was outspoken on African-American and women’s rights, has died, her family announced on X-News Friday night.

Jackson Lee of Texas announced last month that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment. She was 74 and had previously had breast cancer.

“A staunch defender of the people, she was affectionately and simply referred to as ‘MP’ by her constituents in recognition of her near-ubiquitous presence and service in their daily lives for over 30 years,” her family said in the statement.

Bishop James Dixon, a longtime friend in Houston who visited Jackson Lee earlier this week, said he will remember her as a fighter.

“She was a person of rare refinement, who tirelessly gave everything she had to make sure others had what they needed. That was Sheila,” he said.

Jackson Lee had just been elected to the Houston district formerly represented by Barbara Jordan, the first black woman elected to Congress from a Southern state since Reconstruction, when she was immediately placed on the House Judiciary Committee in 1995.

“They just saw me, I guess through my profile, through Barbara Jordan’s work,” Jackson Lee told the Houston Chronicle in 2022. “I thought it was an honor because they thought I was going to be the person that they needed.”

Jackson Lee quickly established herself as a fierce advocate for women and minorities, and a leader of House Democrats on a range of social justice issues, from police reform to reparations for the descendants of slaves.

She led the first rewrite of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender and immigrant women.

Jackson Lee was also a key lawmaker behind the 2021 effort to have Juneteenth recognized as the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr. Day was created in 1986.

The holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom.

Originally from Queens, New York, Jackson Lee graduated from Yale and received her law degree from the University of Virginia.

She served as a judge in Houston before being elected to the Houston City Council in 1989 and then ran for Congress in 1994. She was an advocate for gay rights and an early opponent of the Iraq War in 2003.

Top Democrats in Congress quickly responded to the news Friday night, praising his commitment and work ethic.

Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina called her “a tenacious defender of civil rights and a tireless fighter for bettering the lives of her constituents.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said he had never known a lawmaker as hard-working as Jackson Lee, saying she “studied every bill and every amendment with precision and then told Texas and America exactly what her position was.”

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California cited Lee’s “unwavering determination” in having Juneteenth declared a national holiday.

“As a powerful voice in Congress for our Constitution and our human rights, she fought tirelessly to advance fairness, equity, and justice for all,” Pelosi said.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he and his wife, Cecilia, will always remember Jackson Lee, calling her a “tireless advocate for the people of Houston.”

“His legacy of public service and dedication to Texas will live on,” he said.

Jackson Lee was re-elected to Congress without difficulty. The few times she faced an opponent, she never received less than two-thirds of the vote.

Jackson Lee considered leaving Congress in 2023 to become Houston’s first black female mayor, but she was defeated in a runoff election. She then easily won the Democratic nomination for this year’s general election.

During the mayoral campaign, Jackson Lee expressed regret and said “everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect” after an unverified audio recording purported to be of the lawmaker berating staffers surfaced.

In 2019, Jackson Lee resigned from two leadership positions on the House Judiciary Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Congressional Black Caucus, after a lawsuit by a former employee who said his sexual assault complaint was mishandled.

Jackson Lee was one of a handful of members of the Congressional Black Caucus arrested in Washington, DC in the summer of 2021 while protesting delays in passing laws to protect voting rights.

She was protesting outside the Hart Senate building alongside other demonstrators at the time of her arrest.

“Any action that is a peaceful act of civil disobedience is commendable and more than that – it pushes all of us to do better,” said Jackson Lee, whose state is one of the hardest places to vote in the United States. said at the time.

Jackson Lee’s family said in their statement that she was a beloved wife, sister, mother and grandmother known as Bebe.

“She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire all who believe in freedom, justice and democracy,” the statement said. “God bless you, Congresswoman, and God bless the United States of America.”

Reuters and the Associated Press contributed to this report.