88R18814 TBO-D
By: Reynolds H.R. No. 576
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Members of the Texas State Conference of NAACP Units
are visiting the State Capitol on April 4, 2023, in celebration of
Texas NAACP Day; and
WHEREAS, For more than a century, the NAACP has played a
crucial role in the struggle for equal rights and justice; the
organization was founded in 1909 and grew rapidly as it set agendas
and developed tactics that would propel the civil rights movement
through the 20th century; early members of the group included
W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, and
Ida B. Wells; and
WHEREAS, The NAACP has drawn its strength as a grassroots
organization from a membership based in hundreds of communities
across the nation, and its local branches have been key to its
effectiveness; in Texas, the first chapter was established in
El Paso in 1915, and four more cities in the state gained branches
three years later; and
WHEREAS, In 1937, the Texas State Conference of NAACP Units
was established under the leadership of A. Maceo Smith, and the
organization gained traction as a sustained, statewide movement;
the conference expanded rapidly during and after World War II,
reaching a membership of almost 30,000 people in over 100 branches;
early victories included Supreme Court cases that ended Democratic
White primary elections and secured the admission of Heman M.
Sweatt to The University of Texas School of Law; public school
desegregation cases dragged on longer, tied up in the courts for
years while the NAACP confronted government retaliation; and
WHEREAS, Texas branches of the NAACP have continued to build
on the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Era; initiatives include
litigating redistricting cases and targeting discriminatory
practices in employment, housing, and the criminal justice system;
since 1991, that work has been guided by Gary Bledsoe, president of
the Texas NAACP; and
WHEREAS, For more than eight and a half decades, the Texas
State Conference of NAACP Units has advanced the cause of social
justice, and through their dedication as champions of equal rights,
members across the state are furthering the vital goals of this
trailblazing organization; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas
Legislature hereby recognize April 4, 2023, as Texas NAACP Day at
the State Capitol and extend to the members of the Texas State
Conference of NAACP Units sincere best wishes for a memorable and
productive visit to Austin.