Texas 2011 - 82nd Regular

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1	1	By: Ellis, et al. S.C.R. No. 10
2	2	(Dukes)
3	3
4	4
5	5	SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
6	6	WHEREAS, The legacy that the Honorable Barbara Jordan
7	7	established in her service to the citizens of Texas and the United
8	8	States of America remains a source of inspiration to countless
9	9	people, and time cannot diminish the contributions of this
10	10	admirable patriot, politician, teacher, mentor, friend, icon, and
11	11	hero; and
12	12	WHEREAS, Born on February 21, 1936, to Benjamin and Arlyne
13	13	Jordan, Barbara Jordan was raised in Houston's Fifth Ward and
14	14	graduated with honors from Phillis Wheatley High School in the
15	15	Houston Independent School District; and
16	16	WHEREAS, Ms. Jordan attended Texas Southern University,
17	17	where she majored in government and history and was a member of the
18	18	debate team, winning numerous honors for her oratory skills; after
19	19	graduating magna cum laude from Texas Southern University, she
20	20	enrolled at the Boston University School of Law and received her law
21	21	degree in 1959; and
22	22	WHEREAS, In 1966, Ms. Jordan became the first black woman
23	23	ever elected to the Texas Senate as well as the first African
24	24	American to be elected as a state senator in the United States since
25	25	1883; and
26	26	WHEREAS, Following her successful run for a seat in the
27	27	United States Congress in 1972, Ms. Jordan served in the House of
28	28	Representatives from 1973 until 1979, during which time she
29	29	enhanced her reputation as an evocative public speaker and arose as
30	30	a leader on issues relating to voting rights, consumer protection,
31	31	energy, and the environment; and
32	32	WHEREAS, In her role as a member of the House Committee on the
33	33	Judiciary, she gained national prominence during the Watergate
34	34	impeachment proceedings against President Nixon in 1974; speaking
35	35	before the committee, she movingly portrayed the intention of the
36	36	framers of the United States Constitution and eloquently expressed
37	37	her faith in that document, even as she noted that "We the People,"
38	38	the first words of the preamble to the Constitution, were not
39	39	originally intended to apply to African Americans; and
40	40	WHEREAS, In 1976, Congresswoman Jordan became the first
41	41	female and the first African American to serve as the keynote
42	42	speaker at the Democratic National Convention, and her speech
43	43	reiterated her faith in the Constitution and the desire to form a
44	44	national community that would fulfill the country's purpose of
45	45	creating and sustaining a society in which all are equal; and
46	46	WHEREAS, Ms. Jordan retired from elective office in 1979 and
47	47	became a distinguished professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of
48	48	Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin; for the
49	49	remainder of her life, she focused on mentoring a new generation of
50	50	aspiring leaders, encouraging them to excel and to commit
51	51	themselves to public service; and
52	52	WHEREAS, At the request of President Bill Clinton, she became
53	53	chair of the United States Commission on Immigration Reform in the
54	54	mid-1990s and held that office until her death; in 1994, President
55	55	Clinton honored her for her patriotism and outstanding service by
56	56	awarding her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's
57	57	highest civilian honor; and
58	58	WHEREAS, Barbara Jordan passed away in January 1996, but her
59	59	lifelong commitment to freedom, integrity, equality, and justice
60	60	resonates as powerfully today as it did in years past, and she is
61	61	indeed deserving of special recognition, on the anniversary of her
62	62	birth, in the state that she served so well; now, therefore, be it
63	63	RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas
64	64	hereby designate February 21 through 27 of each year from 2011
65	65	through 2020 as Barbara Jordan Freedom Week.