This website will be unavailable from Thursday, May 30, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, June 3, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.

                                                                                

79R2906 JTR-D

By:  Davis of Dallas                                              H.R. No. 58 



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, With the passing of former U.S. Congresswoman 
Shirley Chisholm on January 1, 2005, at the age of 80, America has 
lost a singular political pioneer, a dedicated champion of the 
dispossessed, and a fearless practitioner of the art of speaking 
truth to power; and
	WHEREAS, Born in 1924 into a world that admitted neither 
African Americans nor women into the corridors of power, she went on 
to become the first black woman to be elected to Congress and was a 
candidate for president in 1972; and
	WHEREAS, Throughout her career, she saw herself as a servant 
of the citizens who had elected her, and her steadfast refusal to 
truckle with special interests was reflected in her slogan, 
"Unbought and Unbossed"; and
	WHEREAS, Though well known for her powerful, disciplined 
intelligence and astute political sense, Ms. Chisholm was also 
possessed of a deeply felt compassion for the suffering of her 
fellow humans, as when she risked the wrath of her political allies 
by visiting the bedside of the segregationist George Wallace after 
he was shot and crippled by an attempted assassin; and
	WHEREAS, In discussing her legacy, Ms. Chisholm once remarked 
that she wanted to be remembered as having "guts," and her unbroken 
record of eloquent advocacy on behalf of the poor, the helpless, and 
the disenfranchised has ensured that her name will forever be 
synonymous with gritty courage and integrity; and
	WHEREAS, Shirley Chisholm's dedicated service to her 
constituents was but one aspect of her profound effect on the times 
in which she lived, and her example will continue to inspire her 
fellow Americans as long as honesty and bravery are valued in public 
life; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of former U.S. 
Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm; and, be it further
	RESOLVED, That when the Texas House of Representatives 
adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Shirley Chisholm.