| 1 | 1 | | H.R. No. 2292 |
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| 2 | 2 | | |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, The James D. Burrus Alumni Association, the Harris |
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| 6 | 6 | | County Historical Commission, the Independence Heights |
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| 7 | 7 | | Conservancy, and the James D. Burrus Elementary School celebrated |
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| 8 | 8 | | the dedication of an Official Texas Historical Marker at the school |
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| 9 | 9 | | on February 8, 2023; and |
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| 10 | 10 | | WHEREAS, In 1908, African American families began settling in |
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| 11 | 11 | | the Independence Heights community, and in an effort to meet the |
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| 12 | 12 | | educational needs of area children, the Independence Heights School |
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| 13 | 13 | | was established in a local church; following a petition to the |
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| 14 | 14 | | Harris County Commissioners Court in 1911, a two-room house was |
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| 15 | 15 | | moved from Sunset Heights to East 39th Street to serve as the |
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| 16 | 16 | | official schoolhouse; in addition, the building functioned as an |
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| 17 | 17 | | important cultural center and hosted many political and community |
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| 18 | 18 | | meetings; Oliphant Lockwood Hubbard, the school's first teacher, |
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| 19 | 19 | | later became principal and mayor of Independence Heights; and |
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| 20 | 20 | | WHEREAS, In 1923, the Colored Citizens Committee addressed |
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| 21 | 21 | | the Houston school board about inequalities and proposed bond |
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| 22 | 22 | | allocation for the construction of a new school, which was |
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| 23 | 23 | | completed in 1928 at its current location on East 33rd Street; the |
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| 24 | 24 | | school was renamed after James Dallas Burrus, an educator who was |
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| 25 | 25 | | born into slavery and was a professor of mathematics at Fisk |
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| 26 | 26 | | University for 47 years; during its first year in operation, Burrus |
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| 27 | 27 | | Elementary had 5 teachers and served 185 students; by the 1930s, |
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| 28 | 28 | | enrollment had grown to more than 600 students, with 13 teachers on |
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| 29 | 29 | | staff; it became a junior high school for a time, but due to |
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| 30 | 30 | | rezoning, desegregation, and the addition of other middle schools, |
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| 31 | 31 | | the campus was later returned to an elementary school; and |
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| 32 | 32 | | WHEREAS, Over the course of its history, James D. Burrus |
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| 33 | 33 | | Elementary School has made a positive difference in the lives of |
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| 34 | 34 | | many Houston youth, and the dedication of this historical marker |
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| 35 | 35 | | provides a fitting tribute to the essential role it has played in |
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| 36 | 36 | | educating several generations of area residents; now, therefore, be |
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| 37 | 37 | | it |
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| 38 | 38 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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| 39 | 39 | | Legislature hereby commemorate the dedication of an Official Texas |
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| 40 | 40 | | Historical Marker for the James D. Burrus Elementary School and |
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| 41 | 41 | | commend all those involved in securing this honor for their |
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| 42 | 42 | | efforts. |
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| 43 | 43 | | J. Johnson of Harris |
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| 44 | 44 | | ______________________________ |
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| 45 | 45 | | Speaker of the House |
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| 46 | 46 | | I certify that H.R. No. 2292 was adopted by the House on May |
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| 47 | 47 | | 29, 2023, by a non-record vote. |
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| 48 | 48 | | ______________________________ |
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| 49 | 49 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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