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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 19
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WHEREAS, Ms. Opal Lee of Fort Worth joined the president at |
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the White House on June 17, 2021, to witness the signing of |
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legislation designating Juneteenth as a federal holiday, the |
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culmination of her many years of advocacy; and |
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WHEREAS, Known as "the grandmother of Juneteenth," Ms. Lee |
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began celebrating the June 19 holiday as a girl in Marshall; her |
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family later moved to Fort Worth, where on June 19, 1939, a mob of |
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500 white supremacists burned down her family's new home; rising |
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above oppression, she embarked on a career in education and became |
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a tireless champion for civil rights, cultural heritage, |
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affordable housing, and food security; in retirement, she took on |
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leadership of a food bank, which now serves some 500 families a day |
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and grows healthy produce at an urban farm named in her honor; and |
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WHEREAS, Ms. Lee has organized the Juneteenth event in |
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Fort Worth for decades, and she dreamed of making the observance |
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that started in Texas a national celebration of freedom and |
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unity; in 2016, at the age of 89, she launched a campaign to |
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heighten awareness across the country, walking for 2.5-mile |
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stretches in different cities to symbolize the 2.5-year delay in |
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enforcing the Emancipation Proclamation in Texas; along the way, |
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she spoke to the media and numerous groups about the meaning of |
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Juneteenth and gathered 1.5 million signatures on a petition that |
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she delivered to the U.S. Congress; finally, with passage of the |
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Juneteenth legislation commemorating the end of slavery in the |
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United States, the nation gained its first new holiday since |
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Martin Luther King Jr. Day was signed into law in 1983; and |
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WHEREAS, Long admired for her outstanding contributions to |
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the local community, Ms. Opal Lee has now made an enduring impact |
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at the national level, and her steadfast dedication to a vision |
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of liberty and justice is a source of tremendous inspiration to |
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all; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 87th |
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Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby congratulate Ms. Opal |
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Lee on the designation of Juneteenth as a national holiday and |
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extend to her sincere best wishes for continued success in all |
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her endeavors; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this Resolution be |
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prepared for Ms. Lee as an expression of high regard from the |
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Texas Senate. |
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Powell, Lucio |
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| Bettencourt |
Hinojosa |
Paxton |
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| Buckingham |
Johnson |
Seliger |
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| Campbell |
Kolkhorst |
Springer |
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| Creighton |
Menéndez |
Taylor |
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| Gutierrez |
Nelson |
Whitmire |
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Patrick, President of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that the |
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above Resolution was adopted by |
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the Senate on July 22, 2021. |
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________________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |