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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Members of the Texas State Conference of NAACP Units |
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are visiting the State Capitol on April 4, 2023, in celebration of |
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Texas NAACP Day; and |
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WHEREAS, For more than a century, the NAACP has played a |
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crucial role in the struggle for equal rights and justice; the |
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organization was founded in 1909 and grew rapidly as it set agendas |
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and developed tactics that would propel the civil rights movement |
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through the 20th century; early members of the group included |
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W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, and |
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Ida B. Wells; and |
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WHEREAS, The NAACP has drawn its strength as a grassroots |
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organization from a membership based in hundreds of communities |
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across the nation, and its local branches have been key to its |
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effectiveness; in Texas, the first chapter was established in |
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El Paso in 1915, and four more cities in the state gained branches |
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three years later; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1937, the Texas State Conference of NAACP Units |
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was established under the leadership of A. Maceo Smith, and the |
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organization gained traction as a sustained, statewide movement; |
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the conference expanded rapidly during and after World War II, |
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reaching a membership of almost 30,000 people in over 100 branches; |
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early victories included Supreme Court cases that ended Democratic |
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White primary elections and secured the admission of Heman M. |
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Sweatt to The University of Texas School of Law; public school |
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desegregation cases dragged on longer, tied up in the courts for |
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years while the NAACP confronted government retaliation; and |
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WHEREAS, Texas branches of the NAACP have continued to build |
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on the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Era; initiatives include |
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litigating redistricting cases and targeting discriminatory |
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practices in employment, housing, and the criminal justice system; |
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since 1991, that work has been guided by Gary Bledsoe, president of |
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the Texas NAACP; and |
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WHEREAS, For more than eight and a half decades, the Texas |
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State Conference of NAACP Units has advanced the cause of social |
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justice, and through their dedication as champions of equal rights, |
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members across the state are furthering the vital goals of this |
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trailblazing organization; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize April 4, 2023, as Texas NAACP Day at |
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the State Capitol and extend to the members of the Texas State |
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Conference of NAACP Units sincere best wishes for a memorable and |
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productive visit to Austin. |