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| 3 | 4 | | |
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| 4 | 5 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 6 | | WHEREAS, June 15, 2015, will mark 27 years since the passing |
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| 6 | 7 | | of William C. Velasquez, founder of the Southwest Voter |
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| 7 | 8 | | Registration Education Project, and this solemn anniversary offers |
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| 8 | 9 | | a fitting opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of a voting |
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| 9 | 10 | | rights pioneer and revered son of the Lone Star State; and |
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| 10 | 11 | | WHEREAS, Born in 1944, Willie Velasquez graduated from |
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| 11 | 12 | | Central Catholic High School in San Antonio and then attended |
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| 12 | 13 | | St. Mary's University; his dedication to furthering the civil |
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| 13 | 14 | | rights of Hispanic Americans was already evident in his college |
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| 14 | 15 | | years when he helped found the Mexican American Youth Organization |
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| 15 | 16 | | at St. Mary's and also worked as an organizer for the United Farm |
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| 16 | 17 | | Workers Union; and |
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| 17 | 18 | | WHEREAS, Prominent in a number of Latino political |
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| 18 | 19 | | organizations of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mr. Velasquez |
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| 19 | 20 | | helped lay the groundwork for La Raza Unida, a political party |
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| 20 | 21 | | championing the rights of Mexican Americans, and for the National |
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| 21 | 22 | | Council of La Raza, which has become an important civil rights and |
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| 22 | 23 | | advocacy group; and |
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| 23 | 24 | | WHEREAS, Mr. Velasquez focused on Latino participation in |
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| 24 | 25 | | elections as part of his work for the council, and these efforts led |
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| 25 | 26 | | to the founding of the Southwest Voter Registration Education |
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| 26 | 27 | | Project in 1974; uniting behind the slogan Su Voto es Su Voz, "Your |
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| 27 | 28 | | Vote is Your Voice," SVREP set out to educate Hispanics about the |
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| 28 | 29 | | democratic process and urge them to take part in elections; by |
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| 29 | 30 | | conducting thousands of nonpartisan voter registration and |
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| 30 | 31 | | get-out-the-vote campaigns, SVREP has helped bring about a dramatic |
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| 31 | 32 | | increase in the number of Latino voters and Latino elected |
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| 32 | 33 | | officials, both in Texas and across the United States; and |
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| 33 | 34 | | WHEREAS, Willie Velasquez also realized the need for an |
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| 34 | 35 | | organization that could gauge Hispanic public opinion and share |
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| 35 | 36 | | those views with elected leaders; toward that end, he founded the |
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| 36 | 37 | | Southwest Voter Research Institute in 1984; now renamed the William |
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| 37 | 38 | | C. Velasquez Institute, it collects and distributes information on |
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| 38 | 39 | | public policy issues that impact Latino citizens, thereby |
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| 39 | 40 | | amplifying their voice in the dialog of American politics; and |
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| 40 | 41 | | WHEREAS, The untimely death of Mr. Velasquez in 1988 at the |
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| 41 | 42 | | age of 44 was a loss deeply felt throughout the country, but his |
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| 42 | 43 | | legacy lives on; in 1995, President Bill Clinton posthumously |
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| 43 | 44 | | awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest |
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| 44 | 45 | | civilian honor, and he was one of the civil rights figures whose |
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| 45 | 46 | | names were attached to the U.S. Senate version of the Voting Rights |
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| 46 | 47 | | Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006; and |
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| 47 | 48 | | WHEREAS, Willie Velasquez is a figure of great importance for |
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| 48 | 49 | | Americans; his efforts to expand the electorate and educate |
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| 49 | 50 | | citizens about a range of civic issues were a great and influential |
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| 50 | 51 | | contribution that continues to benefit all those throughout this |
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| 51 | 52 | | country who are committed to the concept of representative |
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| 52 | 53 | | democracy; now, therefore, be it |
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| 53 | 54 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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| 54 | 55 | | Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of William C. Velasquez |
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| 55 | 56 | | on June 15, 2015, the 27th anniversary of his death, and commemorate |
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| 56 | 57 | | his record of achievement in furthering the nation's democratic |
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| 57 | 58 | | tradition. |
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