Texas 2019 - 86th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SR86 Compare Versions

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1	1	SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 86
2	2	WHEREAS, The life and achievements of the Honorable José
3	3	Tomás Canales, a former state representative and civil rights
4	4	trailblazer, are being honored on the 100th anniversary of his
5	5	landmark 1919 investigation of the Texas Rangers; and
6	6	WHEREAS, Born into a prominent Nueces County ranching
7	7	family in 1877, J. T. Canales earned his law degree from the
8	8	University of Michigan; from 1900 to 1903, he practiced in Corpus
9	9	Christi and Laredo before settling in Brownsville, where he spent
10	10	the next two decades as a lawyer and a public official; and
11	11	WHEREAS, In addition to serving as superintendent of the
12	12	Cameron County public schools and as a county judge, Mr. Canales
13	13	spent five terms as a member of the Texas House of
14	14	Representatives, holding office from 1905 to 1911 and from 1917
15	15	to 1921; the only Hispanic state representative at the time, he
16	16	provided an important voice for the diverse populations living in
17	17	the Lower Rio Grande Valley; and
18	18	WHEREAS, One of Representative Canales's most notable
19	19	accomplishments was his 1919 investigation into the Texas
20	20	Rangers for their actions during the 1910s, in particular the
21	21	massacre of 15 unarmed ethnic Mexican men and boys, when the
22	22	Mexican Revolution roiled the border area; the Canales
23	23	Investigation, as it became known, shined a light on the
24	24	excessive violence carried out by the Rangers against residents
25	25	of Mexican descent, which resulted in as many as 5,000 deaths
26	26	between 1914 and 1919; though he faced opposition and death
27	27	threats for his efforts, Representative Canales outlined
28	28	numerous instances of misconduct by members of the law
29	29	enforcement agency, and the investigation ultimately resulted in
30	30	the force being reorganized and reduced in number; and
31	31	WHEREAS, Representative Canales decided not to seek
32	32	reelection in 1920 and retired from state office, but he remained
33	33	active in Hispanic civil rights initiatives; he was integral to
34	34	the founding of the League of United Latin American Citizens, and
35	35	he served as Brownsville city attorney and chaired the Texas
36	36	Council on Human Rights; a lifelong believer in the importance of
37	37	accessible, high-quality education, he wrote numerous articles
38	38	and books about Mexican American history and the development of
39	39	South Texas; he passed away in Brownsville on March 30, 1976, at
40	40	the age of 99; and
41	41	WHEREAS, J. T. Canales was a pioneering figure in the
42	42	struggle for social justice in the Lone Star State, and his
43	43	vision and leadership remain a continuing source of inspiration;
44	44	now, therefore, be it
45	45	RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th
46	46	Legislature, hereby pay tribute to the legacy of José Tomás Canales
47	47	and commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Canales Investigation.
48	48	Rodríguez
49	49	________________________________
50	50	President of the Senate
51	51	I hereby certify that the
52	52	above Resolution was adopted by
53	53	the Senate on January 30, 2019.
54	54	________________________________
55	55	Secretary of the Senate
56	56	________________________________
57	57	Member, Texas Senate