| 1 | 1 | | 82R6861 JH-D |
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| 2 | 2 | | By: Dukes, McClendon, Johnson, et al. H.C.R. No. 46 |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION |
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| 6 | 6 | | WHEREAS, The legacy that the Honorable Barbara Jordan |
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| 7 | 7 | | established in her service to the citizens of Texas and the United |
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| 8 | 8 | | States of America remains a source of inspiration to countless |
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| 9 | 9 | | people, and time cannot diminish the contributions of this |
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| 10 | 10 | | admirable patriot, politician, teacher, mentor, friend, icon, and |
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| 11 | 11 | | hero; and |
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| 12 | 12 | | WHEREAS, Born on February 21, 1936, to Benjamin and Arlyne |
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| 13 | 13 | | Jordan, Barbara Jordan was raised in Houston's Fifth Ward and |
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| 14 | 14 | | graduated with honors from Phillis Wheatley High School in the |
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| 15 | 15 | | Houston Independent School District; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, Ms. Jordan attended Texas Southern University, |
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| 17 | 17 | | where she majored in government and history and was a member of the |
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| 18 | 18 | | debate team, winning numerous honors for her oratory skills; after |
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| 19 | 19 | | graduating magna cum laude from TSU, she enrolled at the Boston |
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| 20 | 20 | | University School of Law and received her law degree in 1959; and |
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| 21 | 21 | | WHEREAS, In 1966, Ms. Jordan became the first black woman |
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| 22 | 22 | | ever elected to the Texas Senate as well as the first African |
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| 23 | 23 | | American to be elected as a state senator in the United States since |
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| 24 | 24 | | 1883; and |
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| 25 | 25 | | WHEREAS, Following her successful run for a seat in the U.S. |
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| 26 | 26 | | Congress in 1972, Ms. Jordan served in the House of Representatives |
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| 27 | 27 | | from 1973 until 1979, during which time she enhanced her reputation |
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| 28 | 28 | | as an evocative public speaker and arose as a leader on issues |
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| 29 | 29 | | relating to voting rights, consumer protection, energy, and the |
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| 30 | 30 | | environment; and |
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| 31 | 31 | | WHEREAS, In her role as a member of the House Committee on the |
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| 32 | 32 | | Judiciary, she gained national prominence during the Watergate |
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| 33 | 33 | | impeachment proceedings against President Nixon in 1974; speaking |
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| 34 | 34 | | before the committee, she movingly portrayed the intention of the |
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| 35 | 35 | | framers of the U.S. Constitution and eloquently expressed her faith |
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| 36 | 36 | | in that document, even as she noted that "We the People," the first |
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| 37 | 37 | | words of the preamble to the Constitution, were not originally |
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| 38 | 38 | | intended to apply to African Americans; and |
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| 39 | 39 | | WHEREAS, In 1976, Congresswoman Jordan became the first |
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| 40 | 40 | | female and the first African American to serve as the keynote |
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| 41 | 41 | | speaker at the Democratic National Convention, and her speech |
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| 42 | 42 | | reiterated her faith in the Constitution and the desire to form a |
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| 43 | 43 | | national community that would fulfill the country's purpose of |
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| 44 | 44 | | creating and sustaining a society in which all are equal; and |
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| 45 | 45 | | WHEREAS, Ms. Jordan retired from elective office in 1979 and |
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| 46 | 46 | | became a distinguished professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of |
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| 47 | 47 | | Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin; for the |
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| 48 | 48 | | remainder of her life, she focused on mentoring a new generation of |
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| 49 | 49 | | aspiring leaders, encouraging them to excel and to commit |
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| 50 | 50 | | themselves to public service; and |
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| 51 | 51 | | WHEREAS, At the request of President Bill Clinton, she became |
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| 52 | 52 | | chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform in the mid-1990s |
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| 53 | 53 | | and held that office until her death; in 1994, President Clinton |
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| 54 | 54 | | honored her for her patriotism and outstanding service by awarding |
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| 55 | 55 | | her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest |
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| 56 | 56 | | civilian honor; and |
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| 57 | 57 | | WHEREAS, Barbara Jordan passed away in January 1996, but her |
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| 58 | 58 | | lifelong commitment to freedom, integrity, equality, and justice |
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| 59 | 59 | | resonates as powerfully today as it did in years past, and she is |
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| 60 | 60 | | indeed deserving of special recognition, on the anniversary of her |
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| 61 | 61 | | birth, in the state that she served so well; now, therefore, be it |
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| 62 | 62 | | RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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| 63 | 63 | | hereby designate February 21 through 27 of each year from 2011 |
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| 64 | 64 | | through 2020 as Barbara Jordan Freedom Week. |
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