SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 220
WHEREAS, The year 2019 marks the 46th anniversary of the
year the Honorable Mickey Leland was sworn in as a member of the
Texas House of Representatives; and
WHEREAS, Born in Lubbock in 1944, George Thomas "Mickey"
Leland III grew up in Houston's Fifth Ward and earned his
bachelor's degree in pharmacy at Texas Southern University;
while working as an instructor of clinical pharmacy at his alma
mater, he developed an educational outreach campaign offering
medical screenings to low-income residents; and
WHEREAS, Congressman Leland was only 28 when he won
election to the Texas House of Representatives from District 88,
then located in Harris County; he quickly gained renown as a
champion of health care for the poor, and he helped secure
passage of legislation giving those in need access to affordable
generic drugs; a member of numerous committees, he became the
first African American to serve on the Senate-House Conference
Committee as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and
he was vice chair of the Joint Committee on Prison Reform; and
WHEREAS, In 1978, following three terms in the Texas
Legislature, Congressman Leland was elected to the United States
House of Representatives; he founded the House Select Committee on
Hunger and helped establish the National Commission on AIDS; in
addition, he secured passage of bills providing fresh produce to
low-income families and medical clinics and food to the homeless;
he also served as chair of the Black Caucus, and he won praise from
the State Department for his successful efforts in arranging the
release of four Americans imprisoned in Cuba; tragically, he lost
his life in a plane crash in 1989, while leading a relief mission to
a refugee camp in Ethiopia; his contributions have since continued
to resonate, and over the years, a number of facilities and
initiatives have been renamed in his honor, among them a federal
building in Houston, the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality's Internship Program, and the Mickey Leland College
Preparatory Academy for Young Men; moreover, the Barbara
Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern
University celebrates the contributions of these two
groundbreaking representatives from the 18th Congressional
District; and
WHEREAS, Mickey Leland demonstrated a tremendous commitment
to his fellow Texans and to vulnerable people the world over, and
his legacy remains a source of inspiration to all; now, therefore,
be it
RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th
Legislature, hereby commemorate the 46th anniversary of Mickey
LelandbeingsworninasamemberoftheTexasHouse
of Representatives.
Miles
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President of the Senate
I hereby certify that the
above Resolution was adopted by
the Senate on February 19, 2019.
________________________________
Secretary of the Senate
________________________________
Member, Texas Senate