By: Coleman H.C.R. No. 90

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Richard Allen, a political and civic leader, was born a slave in Richmond, Virginia, on June 10, 1830 and he was brought to Texas in 1837 and ultimately settled in Harris County, where he would serve the people of Harris County for many years; and

WHEREAS, While a slave he earned a reputation as a skilled carpenter and is credited with designing and building the mansion of Houston mayor Joseph R. Morris; and

WHEREAS, After emancipation Allen became a contractor and bridge builder, and built the first bridge across Buffalo Bayou in Houston; and

WHEREAS, Although he was without a formal education, he became literate by 1870 and entered politics as a federal voter registrar in 1867, going on in 1868 to serve as an agent of the Freedmen's Bureau and as the supervisor of voter registration for the Fourteenth District of Texas; and

WHEREAS, Allen was elected to the Twelfth Legislature in November 1869 and became one of the first and most active African-American legislators as a representative of the Fourteenth District; and

WHEREAS, Allen advocated measures for education, law enforcement, and civil rights and in 1871 the Union League made him one of its vice presidents; and

WHEREAS, He was elected street commissioner in Houston as an independent candidate in January 1878 and served for one term and later that year was nominated for lieutenant governor, thereby making him the first African-American to seek statewide office in Texas; and

WHEREAS, Allen served as quartermaster for the African-American regiment of Texas militia in 1881-1882, and from 1882 to 1885 he acted as storekeeper and then inspector and deputy collector of United States customs at Houston; and

WHEREAS, As customs collector Allen became involved in a labor dispute at the port of Houston in 1890 when he defied white labor leaders but urged African-American workers to remain peaceful during the protests; and

WHEREAS, In 1872 and 1879 Allen served as a delegate to the National Colored Men's Convention and served as a vice president in 1873 and as chairman in 1879 of African-American state conventions that voiced African Americans' concerns about civil rights, education, and economic issues; and

WHEREAS, When the Prince Hall Masons organized in Texas in 1875, Allen presided over the meeting in Brenham and two years later became the state's grand master; and

WHEREAS, In Houston he led emancipation celebrations, promoted a park, and served as the superintendent of the Sunday school at Antioch Baptist Church and sat on the board of directors of Gregory Institute, Houston's first African-American secondary school; and

WHEREAS, Allen and his wife Nancy had one son and four daughters and he died on May 16, 1909, in Houston and is buried in the city cemetery; and

WHEREAS, Allen was a freedom fighter who courageously sided with the abolitionist movement of the North; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Allen is best known as a leader, and will forever be included within an impressive lineage of Texas's civil rights legends such as the Honorable Barbara Jordan and the Honorable Mickey Leland; and

WHEREAS, Allen has earned the esteem and the right to have the state office building that houses the Texas Residential Construction Commission and serves as its state headquarters, located at 311 East 14th Street, Austin, Texas named in his honor as a fitting tribute; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby extend its appreciation to Richard Allen for his years of devotion to public service and direct the Texas Building and Procurement Commission to name the state office building located at 311 East 14th Street, Austin, Texas the Richard Allen State Office Building; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That the secretary of state forward an official copy of this resolution to the chair and executive director of the Texas Building and Procurement Commission.