US Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Dies at 74

Sheila Jackson Lee, the U.S. Congresswoman from Texas who led federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and established Juneteenth as a national holiday, has died at age 74.

Mrs. Jackson Lee, who had pancreatic cancer, died Friday evening in Houston surrounded by her family, her chief of staff confirmed.

The Democrat has represented her district in Houston, America’s fourth-largest city, since 1995. She previously had breast cancer and announced on June 2 that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Mrs. Jackson Lee then said, “The road ahead will not be easy, but I have confidence that God will strengthen me.”

Bishop James Dixon, a friend in Houston who visited Jackson Lee earlier this week, said he will remember her as a fighter.

Mrs. Jackson Lee had just been elected to the Houston district once represented by Barbara Jordan. She was the first black woman elected to Congress from a Southern state since Reconstruction. In 1995, she was immediately appointed to the House Judiciary Committee.

“They just saw me, I guess, through my profile, through Barbara Jordan’s work,” Ms. Jackson Lee told the Houston Chronicle in 2022. “I thought it was an honor, because they assumed I would be the person they needed.”

Mrs. Jackson Lee quickly became a fierce advocate for women and minorities, and was a champion for House Democrats on many social justice issues, from police reform to reparations for the descendants of enslaved people.

She led the first revision of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender and immigrant women.

Ms. Jackson Lee was also one of the key lawmakers behind the 2021 effort to recognize Juneteenth as the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was established in 1986.

Jackson Lee is a native of Queens, New York, graduated from Yale and received her law degree from the University of Virginia. She served as a judge in Houston before being elected to the Houston City Council in 1989. She ran for Congress in 1994. She was an advocate for gay rights and an early opponent of the Iraq War in 2003.

Leading Democrats in Congress were quick to react to the news, praising her dedication and work ethic.

James Clyburn of South Carolina called her “a tenacious champion of civil rights and a tireless fighter who improves the lives of her constituents.”

Jamie Raskin of Maryland said he had never known a more hardworking legislator than Ms. Jackson Lee. She said she “scrutinized every bill and every amendment and then told Texas and America exactly what she stood for.”

Former Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi of California cited Mrs. Jackson Lee’s “relentless determination” to have Juneteenth declared a national holiday.

“As a powerful voice in Congress for our Constitution and human rights, she fought tirelessly to advance fairness, equality and justice for all,” she said.

Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott said he and his wife Cecilia will always remember Mrs. Jackson Lee, calling her a “tireless advocate for the people of Houston.”

He said, “Her legacy of public service and dedication to Texas will live on.”