H.R. No. 327
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, June 15, 2010, will mark 22 years since the passing
  of William C. Velasquez, founder of the Southwest Voter
  Registration Education Project, and this solemn anniversary offers
  a fitting opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of this
  voting rights pioneer and revered son of the Lone Star State; and
         WHEREAS, Born in 1944, Willie Velasquez graduated from
  Central Catholic High School in San Antonio and then attended St.
  Mary's University; his dedication to furthering the civil rights of
  Hispanic Americans was already evident in his college years; he
  helped found the Mexican American Youth Organization while at St.
  Mary's and also worked as an organizer for the United Farm Workers
  Union in 1966 and 1967; and
         WHEREAS, Prominent in a number of groundbreaking Latino
  political organizations of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mr.
  Velasquez helped lay the groundwork for the Raza Unida Party, a
  political party championing the rights of Mexican Americans, and
  for the National Council of La Raza, which has become an important
  civil rights and advocacy group; and
         WHEREAS, Mr. Velasquez focused on Latino participation in
  elections as part of his work for the council, and this led to the
  founding of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project in
  1974; uniting behind the slogan Su Voto es Su Voz, "Your Vote is
  Your Voice," SVREP set out to educate Hispanics about the
  democratic process and urge them to take part in elections, and this
  vital work has continued for more than three decades; by conducting
  thousands of nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote
  campaigns, SVREP has helped bring about a dramatic increase in
  Latino voters, with the number of registered Hispanics rising from
  2.4 million in the year the organization was founded to 9.8 million
  in 2006; the number of Latino elected officials has also greatly
  increased, with more than 6,000 Hispanics now holding office
  throughout the country; and
         WHEREAS, Willie Velasquez also realized the need for an
  organization that could gauge Hispanic public opinion and share
  those views with elected leaders; toward that end, he founded the
  Southwest Voter Research Institute in 1984; now renamed the William
  C. Velasquez Institute, it collects and distributes information on
  public policy issues that impact Latino citizens, thereby
  amplifying their voice in the dialog of American politics; and
         WHEREAS, The untimely death of Mr. Velasquez in 1988 at the
  age of 44 was a loss deeply felt throughout the country, but his
  legacy lives on; in 1995, President Bill Clinton posthumously
  awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest
  civilian honor, and he was one of the civil rights figures whose
  names were attached to the U.S. Senate version of the Voting Rights
  Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006; and
         WHEREAS, Willie Velasquez is a figure of great importance for
  all Americans committed to the concept of representative democracy;
  his efforts to expand the electorate and educate the citizens of the
  United States about a range of civic issues were a great and
  influential contribution that continues to benefit the State of
  Texas and the other states of the Union; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 81st Texas
  Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of William C. Velasquez
  on June 15, 2010, the 22nd anniversary of his death, and commemorate
  his record of achievement in furthering the nation's democratic
  tradition.
 
  Alonzo
 
 
Straus Gattis Menendez
 
Allen Geren Merritt
 
Alonzo Giddings Miklos
 
Alvarado Gonzales Miller of Comal
 
Anchia Gonzalez Toureilles Miller of Erath
 
Anderson Guillen Moody
 
Aycock Gutierrez Morrison
 
Berman Hamilton Naishtat
 
Bohac Hancock Oliveira
 
Bolton Hardcastle Olivo
 
Bonnen Harless Orr
 
Branch Harper-Brown Ortiz, Jr.
 
Brown of Kaufman Hartnett Otto
 
Brown of Brazos Heflin Parker
 
Burnam Hernandez Patrick
 
Button Herrero Paxton
 
Callegari Hilderbran Peña
 
Castro Hochberg Phillips
 
Chavez Hodge Pickett
 
Chisum Homer Pierson
 
Christian Hopson Pitts
 
Cohen Howard of Fort Bend Quintanilla
 
Coleman Howard of Travis Raymond
 
Cook Hughes Riddle
 
Corte Hunter Rios Ybarra
 
Crabb Isett Ritter
 
Craddick Jackson Rodriguez
 
Creighton Jones Rose
 
Crownover Keffer Sheffield
 
Darby Kent Shelton
 
Davis of Harris King of Parker Smith of Tarrant
 
Davis of Dallas King of Taylor Smith of Harris
 
Deshotel King of Zavala Smithee
 
Driver Kleinschmidt Solomons
 
Dukes Kolkhorst Strama
 
Dunnam Kuempel Swinford
 
Dutton Laubenberg Taylor
 
Edwards Legler Thibaut
 
Eiland Leibowitz Thompson
 
Eissler Lewis Truitt
 
Elkins Lucio III Turner of Tarrant
 
England Madden Turner of Harris
 
Farabee Maldonado Vaught
 
Farias Mallory Caraway Veasey
 
Farrar Marquez Villarreal
 
Fletcher Martinez Vo
 
Flores Martinez Fischer Walle
 
Flynn McCall Weber
 
Frost McClendon Woolley
 
Gallego McReynolds Zerwas
 
  ______________________________
  Speaker of the House     
 
         I certify that H.R. No. 327 was unanimously adopted by a
  rising vote of the House on February 26, 2009.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House