87R16189 JGH-D
By: Cole H.R. No. 412
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, A life dedicated to community leadership and social
justice drew to a close with the death of Bertha Sadler Means of
Austin on March 16, 2021, at the age of 100; and
WHEREAS, The former Bertha Elizabeth Sadler was born in May
1920 in Valley Mills, a long-established Black community in
McLennan and Bosque counties founded by her grandfather, the
Reverend James Sadler; she was an intelligent and athletic young
woman, and she graduated from A. J. Moore High School in Waco; and
WHEREAS, After moving to Austin to attend what is now
Huston-Tillotson University, she met James H. Means, and they
married in December 1941, going on to share 66 years together until
his death in 2008; the same year they were wed, the couple helped
establish St. James' Episcopal Church in East Austin, and they
started a successful business, Harlem Cab, which later became the
Austin Cab Company; Mrs. Means was also one of the first Black
teachers to work in Austin's White-majority schools, and the Austin
school district later named Bertha Sadler Means Young Women's
Leadership Academy in her honor; and
WHEREAS, In 1962, Mrs. Means organized protests against
discrimination at the Ice Palace skating rink, and she became a
leading civil rights activist in the city, serving as a member of
the NAACP, the Austin Human Relations Commission, and the Urban
League, as well as the Austin Parks Commission, the Town Lake
Beautification Committee, and the city's bicentennial commission;
she was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and a founder of the Austin
chapter of Jack and Jill of America, and she helped bring the Ebony
Fashion Fair to the city; moreover, she proudly attended the 2008
Democratic National Convention in support of Barack Obama; and
WHEREAS, Above all else, Mrs. Means took great pride in her
five children, James, Ronald, Joan, Janet, and Patricia, and she
was blessed with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and
WHEREAS, A woman who gave freely of her time, energy, and
talent to make Austin a better place for all, Bertha Means was a
true champion for justice, and she leaves behind a record of good
works that will long resonate in the community she loved; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Bertha Sadler Means
and extend heartfelt sympathy to her family and many friends; and,
be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Bertha
Sadler Means.