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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, The Honorable Zinetta Arceneaux Burney of Houston |
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passed away on September 22, 2024, at the age of 83, leaving her |
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loved ones to reflect on her remarkable life and achievements; and |
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WHEREAS, A Houston native, the former Zinetta Arceneaux was |
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born on February 24, 1941, to John and Thelma Arceneaux; although |
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she left high school to raise her daughter, Sharon Maria Burney, she |
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later earned her GED and completed training to begin her career as a |
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licensed vocational nurse; in 1968, she received a bachelor's |
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degree in mathematics from Texas Southern University, and she went |
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on to graduate from TSU's Thurgood Marshall School of Law on her way |
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to becoming an attorney; and |
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WHEREAS, Alongside four other women, Ms. Burney founded the |
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first African American female-led law practice in the country, |
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known as the "Sisters in Law," which served the Acres Homes |
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community; she took on cases even when her clients were unable to |
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pay, and her generosity extended to helping others in the |
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neighborhood with groceries and other necessities; she later became |
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the senior partner of the law firm of Burney & Foreman, and in 2004, |
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she was elected presiding judge of Harris County Justice of the |
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Peace Court, Precinct 7, Place 2; she served in that capacity for a |
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decade and a half until she had the satisfaction of seeing her |
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daughter succeed her in her long-held position in 2019; and |
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WHEREAS, Active in her professional community, Judge Burney |
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belonged to the Houston Lawyers Association, the Gulf Coast Black |
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Women Lawyers Association, the State Bar of Texas, and the Houston |
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and National Bar Associations, among others; in addition, she was |
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appointed by Governor Ann Richards to the University of Houston |
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System Board of Regents; she benefited her fellow residents through |
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her work as a board member for the Third Ward Redevelopment Council |
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and the Greater Houston Women's Foundation, as chair of the board of |
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commissions for the Houston Housing Authority, and as a member of |
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such local organizations as the Houston Area Urban League; |
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throughout her life, she was recognized for her accomplishments by |
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the City of Houston, the NAACP, the United Negro College Fund, the |
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Thurgood Marshall School of Law, and numerous other groups; and |
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WHEREAS, Zinetta Burney was a pioneering legal professional |
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and a true pillar of her community, and although she will be greatly |
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missed, she leaves behind a legacy that will long be treasured by |
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all who held her dear; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of the Honorable Zinetta |
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Arceneaux Burney and extend deepest sympathy to her family and |
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friends; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of |
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Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Zinetta |
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Burney. |