SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 196

In Memory

of

Bertha Sadler Means

WHEREAS, The Senate of the State of Texas honors and commemorates the life of Bertha Sadler Means, who died March 16, 2021, at the age of 100; and

WHEREAS, Bertha Sadler Means was a leading Austin citizen and a well-known civil rights advocate, educator, and businesswoman whose commitment to social justice had a significant impact on the Austin community; and

WHEREAS, Bertha Sadler was born on May 1, 1920, in Valley Mills, a freedom colony founded by her grandfather, the Reverend James Sadler, a former slave; she earned a degree from A. J. Moore High School in Waco before attending Huston-Tillotson University, where she met her husband, the late James H. Means Sr.; they married in 1941, and she later earned a master's degree in education from The University of Texas at Austin; and

WHEREAS, Bertha and James raised five children together and were blessed with multiple grandchildren and great-grandchildren; they operated a successful family business, Harlem Cab, which later became Austin Cab Company, and they were part of a group of people who founded Saint James Episcopal Church in East Austin; and

WHEREAS, Bertha Means served for many years as a teacher in the Austin Independent School District, where she was highly regarded and was among the first African American educators to teach in the city's white-majority schools; in recognition of her

achievements, the district named the Bertha Sadler Means Young Women's Leadership Academy in her honor; she also served as a professor at Prairie View A&M University and The University of Texas at Austin, and she hosted workshops at Huston-Tillotson University; and

WHEREAS, Having endured the indignities of the Jim Crow era while growing up, she was determined that her children grow up in a better environment; she organized protests against racist policies and supported her children as they broke barriers faced by African Americans; in 2008, she took great pride in serving as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention that nominated Barack Obama for president; and

WHEREAS, She was active in a wide range of community and civil rights organizations, including the Austin Human Relations Commission, the Austin Parks Commission, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the Urban League, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority; she was a cofounder of the Austin Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, and she was instrumental in bringing the Ebony Fashion Fair to Austin for the first time; and

WHEREAS, A woman of courage, tenacity, and generosity, Bertha gave unselfishly to others, and her vibrant spirit and her enthusiasm for living each day to the fullest were a source of strength and inspiration to all who were privileged to share in her life; and

WHEREAS, She was a devoted wife, mother, and grandmother, and she leaves behind memories that will be cherished forever by her family and the countless citizens whose lives she touched; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 87th Legislature, hereby extend sincere condolences to the bereaved family of Bertha Sadler Means; and, be it further

RESOLVED, That a copy of this Resolution be prepared for her family as an expression of deepest sympathy from the Texas Senate and that when the Senate adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Bertha Means.

Eckhardt

________________________________

President of the Senate

I hereby certify that the above Resolution was adopted by the Senate on March 29, 2021, by a rising vote.

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Secretary of the Senate

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Member, Texas Senate