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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 220
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WHEREAS, The year 2019 marks the 46th anniversary of the |
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year the Honorable Mickey Leland was sworn in as a member of the |
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Texas House of Representatives; and |
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WHEREAS, Born in Lubbock in 1944, George Thomas "Mickey" |
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Leland III grew up in Houston's Fifth Ward and earned his |
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bachelor's degree in pharmacy at Texas Southern University; |
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while working as an instructor of clinical pharmacy at his alma |
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mater, he developed an educational outreach campaign offering |
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medical screenings to low-income residents; and |
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WHEREAS, Congressman Leland was only 28 when he won |
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election to the Texas House of Representatives from District 88, |
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then located in Harris County; he quickly gained renown as a |
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champion of health care for the poor, and he helped secure |
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passage of legislation giving those in need access to affordable |
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generic drugs; a member of numerous committees, he became the |
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first African American to serve on the Senate-House Conference |
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Committee as a member of the House Appropriations Committee, and |
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he was vice chair of the Joint Committee on Prison Reform; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1978, following three terms in the Texas |
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Legislature, Congressman Leland was elected to the United States |
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House of Representatives; he founded the House Select Committee on |
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Hunger and helped establish the National Commission on AIDS; in |
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addition, he secured passage of bills providing fresh produce to |
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low-income families and medical clinics and food to the homeless; |
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he also served as chair of the Black Caucus, and he won praise from |
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the State Department for his successful efforts in arranging the |
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release of four Americans imprisoned in Cuba; tragically, he lost |
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his life in a plane crash in 1989, while leading a relief mission to |
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a refugee camp in Ethiopia; his contributions have since continued |
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to resonate, and over the years, a number of facilities and |
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initiatives have been renamed in his honor, among them a federal |
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building in Houston, the Texas Commission on Environmental |
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Quality's Internship Program, and the Mickey Leland College |
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Preparatory Academy for Young Men; moreover, the Barbara |
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Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs at Texas Southern |
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University celebrates the contributions of these two |
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groundbreaking representatives from the 18th Congressional |
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District; and |
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WHEREAS, Mickey Leland demonstrated a tremendous commitment |
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to his fellow Texans and to vulnerable people the world over, and |
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his legacy remains a source of inspiration to all; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th |
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Legislature, hereby commemorate the 46th anniversary of Mickey |
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LelandbeingsworninasamemberoftheTexasHouse |
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of Representatives. |
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Miles |
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________________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that the |
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above Resolution was adopted by |
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the Senate on February 19, 2019. |
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________________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |