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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, June 15, 2011, will mark 23 years since the passing |
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of William C. Velasquez, founder of the Southwest Voter |
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Registration Education Project, and this solemn anniversary offers |
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a fitting opportunity to pay tribute to the achievements of this |
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voting rights pioneer and revered son of the Lone Star State; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in 1944, Willie Velasquez graduated from |
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Central Catholic High School in San Antonio and then attended St. |
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Mary's University; his dedication to furthering the civil rights of |
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Hispanic Americans was already evident in his college years; he |
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helped found the Mexican American Youth Organization while at St. |
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Mary's and also worked as an organizer for the United Farm Workers |
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Union in 1966 and 1967; and |
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WHEREAS, Prominent in a number of groundbreaking Latino |
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political organizations of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mr. |
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Velasquez helped lay the groundwork for the Raza Unida Party, a |
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political party championing the rights of Mexican Americans, and |
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for the National Council of La Raza, which has become an important |
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civil rights and advocacy group; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Velasquez focused on Latino participation in |
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elections as part of his work for the council, and this led to the |
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founding of the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project in |
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1974; uniting behind the slogan Su Voto es Su Voz, "Your Vote is |
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Your Voice," SVREP set out to educate Hispanics about the |
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democratic process and urge them to take part in elections, and this |
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vital work has continued for more than three decades; by conducting |
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thousands of nonpartisan voter registration and get-out-the-vote |
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campaigns, SVREP has helped bring about a dramatic increase in |
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Latino voters, with the number of registered Hispanics rising from |
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2.4 million in the year the organization was founded to 11.6 million |
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in 2008; the number of Latino elected officials has also greatly |
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increased, with more than 6,000 Hispanics now holding office |
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throughout the country; and |
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WHEREAS, Willie Velasquez also realized the need for an |
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organization that could gauge Hispanic public opinion and share |
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those views with elected leaders; toward that end, he founded the |
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Southwest Voter Research Institute in 1984; now renamed the William |
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C. Velasquez Institute, it collects and distributes information on |
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public policy issues that impact Latino citizens, thereby |
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amplifying their voice in the dialog of American politics; and |
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WHEREAS, The untimely death of Mr. Velasquez in 1988 at the |
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age of 44 was a loss deeply felt throughout the country, but his |
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legacy lives on; in 1995, President Bill Clinton posthumously |
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awarded him the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest |
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civilian honor, and he was one of the civil rights figures whose |
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names were attached to the U.S. Senate version of the Voting Rights |
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Act Reauthorization and Amendments Act of 2006; and |
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WHEREAS, Willie Velasquez is a figure of great importance for |
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all Americans committed to the concept of representative democracy; |
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his efforts to expand the electorate and educate the citizens of the |
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United States about a range of civic issues were a great and |
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influential contribution that continues to benefit the State of |
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Texas and the other states of the Union; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of William C. Velasquez |
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on June 15, 2011, the 23rd anniversary of his death, and commemorate |
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his record of achievement in furthering the nation's democratic |
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tradition. |
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Alonzo |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 90 was unanimously adopted by a rising |
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vote of the House on February 24, 2011. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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