Advocate for Black Americans for decades Sheila Jackson Lee, a longtime Democratic congresswoman from Texas who was an outspoken , has died due to cancer. She was 74.
Sheila Jackson Lee, a congresswoman from the 18th Congressional District of Texas, passed away peacefully on Friday, following a long illness. In a statement, her family said that she is deeply saddened by her passing and deeply grateful for the life she shared with us.
In June, Jackson Lee announced that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and that she would be undergoing treatment. During that time, she acknowledged that “the road ahead will not be easy” and expressed the faith that God would strengthen her in the process.
In the words of her family, she was “a fierce champion for the people,” affectionately referred to by her constituents as simply “Congresswoman,” who like her constituents appreciated her omnipresent presence and her dedication to their daily lives over the course of more than three decades.
Born on January 12, 1950, in Queens, New York, Jackson Lee was among the first women to graduate from Yale University. She served as a Houston municipal judge and a city councilwoman before her historic election to Texas’ 18th Congressional District in 1994, unseating a Democratic incumbent in the primary for the Houston-area seat.
It would be fair to say that Jackson Lee was an outspoken advocate for progressive interests and Black Americans during her time in Congress. Juneteenth was established as a national holiday after she introduced legislation to establish it as a national holiday and frequently condemned police brutality and advocated for federal legislation to prosecute police misconduct.
The fact that she was opposed to the Iraq War as well as her vehement criticism of the former president Donald Trump was widely admired by progressives. In an unfounded claim about “massive voter suppression,” she opposed the tallying of the electoral votes certifying Trump as the winner of the 2016 election and occasionally used her position on the House Judiciary Committee to excoriate members of Trump’s circle as a result.
It is important to note that despite her being unsuccessful in several of her most ambitious aims, Jackson Lee remained an ardent advocate for racial justice, particularly in the wake of George Floyd’s death as a result of police brutality in 2020.
There will be no stopping until Black lives matter and reparations are passed as the most significant civil rights legislation of the 21st century,” Jackson Lee said at a march in Washington in 2020, when he declared “We will not stop until the nation knows that Black lives matter”.
As well as serving as the chief deputy whip for the Democrats in the House of Representatives, she was also a vice chairperson of the Congressional Progressive Caucus at the time of her death. As a former whip of the Congressional Black Caucus, she held a number of important positions.
During the course of her lifetime, Congresswoman Jackson Lee was a patriot, a fighter, and a patriot to the very end. It is impossible for me to express how deeply our Caucus feels the loss of one of its beloved members. It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our dear friend, who will be deeply missed by everyone who knew her,” said Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford in a statement released following her death.
As a member of Congress, Jackson Lee was not without controversy during his time in office. Her ties to Enron – her district included the corporation’s headquarters and it was a major contributor to her early congressional campaigns, The New York Times reported – were scrutinized in the aftermath of the company’s failure in the early 2000s, though she denied taking it easy on the company.
In 2019, she resigned as chairwoman of the nonprofit Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and stepped down from a House Judiciary subcommittee chairmanship following a lawsuit that alleged she fired a staffer who reported sexual assault by a supervisor at the foundation. At the time Sheila Jackson Lee declined to “discuss specific details about internal personnel matters” but otherwise denied the allegations, and the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge in February 2020.
Last year, Lee sought the Houston mayorship, earning endorsements from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. She lost in a runoff to Texas state Sen. John Whitmire, a fellow Democrat.
Following that loss, Sheila Jackson Lee filed to seek a 16th term in Congress, and in March, she won a competitive Democratic primary over former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards, a former intern.
House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that House Democrats and the city of Houston “mourn a giant,” remembering the congresswoman as “an accomplished legislator, passionate public servant, loving mentor, and wonderful friend to so many of us in the Congressional Black Caucus and House Democratic Caucus family.”
“I am grateful for her fearless advocacy, fierce determination, formidable service and legacy of leadership,” Sheila Jackson Lee said.
Calling Sheila Jackson Lee death a “tremendous loss,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X that the congresswoman “fought so hard throughout her life to make our country a better place for all.”
“I have never known a harder-working political leader than Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who studied every bill and every amendment with exactitude and then told Texas and America exactly where she stood,” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said on X.
On CNN’s “Laura Coates Live,” fellow Texas Rep. Al Green remembered Jackson Lee as “someone in Congress that was always, always working to bring about a just resolution to any problem,” adding that she helped him become a better congressman.
In Congress, she developed a reputation for securing a seat near the entranceway in the House chamber for the president’s annual State of the Union address, ensuring she could engage with the commander in chief. She insisted it wasn’t for the photo opportunities but rather to quickly conduct business with presidents.
As to why she was able to gain regular access to such a prized perch Sheila Jackson Lee said, “Because of so many good friends, I am welcomed in that seat.”
Funeral arrangements are pending, according to the family.
“Sheila Jackson Lee legislative victories impacted millions, from establishing the Juneteenth Federal Holiday to reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. However, she impacted us most as our beloved wife, sister, mother, and Bebe (grandmother),” her family said Friday. “She will be dearly missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire all who believe in freedom, justice, and democracy.”
