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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The legacy that the Honorable Barbara Jordan |
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established in her service to the citizens of Texas and the United |
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States of America remains a source of inspiration to countless |
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people, and time cannot diminish the contributions of this |
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admirable patriot, politician, teacher, mentor, friend, icon, and |
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hero; and |
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WHEREAS, Born on February 21, 1936, to Benjamin and Arlyne |
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Jordan, Barbara Jordan was raised in Houston's Fifth Ward and |
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graduated with honors from Phillis Wheatley High School in the |
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Houston Independent School District; and |
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WHEREAS, Ms. Jordan attended Texas Southern University, |
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where she majored in government and history and was a member of the |
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debate team, winning numerous honors for her oratory skills; after |
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graduating magna cum laude from TSU, she enrolled at the Boston |
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University School of Law and received her law degree in 1959; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1966, Ms. Jordan became the first black woman |
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ever elected to the Texas Senate as well as the first African |
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American to be elected as a state senator in the United States since |
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1883; and |
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WHEREAS, Following her successful run for a seat in the U.S. |
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Congress in 1972, Ms. Jordan served in the House of Representatives |
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from 1973 until 1979, during which time she enhanced her reputation |
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as an evocative public speaker and arose as a leader on issues |
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relating to voting rights, consumer protection, energy, and the |
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environment; and |
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WHEREAS, In her role as a member of the House Committee on the |
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Judiciary, she gained national prominence during the Watergate |
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impeachment proceedings against President Nixon in 1974; speaking |
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before the committee, she movingly portrayed the intention of the |
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framers of the U.S. Constitution and eloquently expressed her faith |
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in that document, even as she noted that "We the People," the first |
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words of the preamble to the Constitution, were not originally |
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intended to apply to African Americans; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1976, Congresswoman Jordan became the first |
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female and the first African American to serve as the keynote |
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speaker at the Democratic National Convention, and her speech |
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reiterated her faith in the Constitution and the desire to form a |
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national community that would fulfill the country's purpose of |
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creating and sustaining a society in which all are equal; and |
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WHEREAS, Ms. Jordan retired from elective office in 1979 and |
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became a distinguished professor at the Lyndon B. Johnson School of |
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Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin; for the |
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remainder of her life, she focused on mentoring a new generation of |
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aspiring leaders, encouraging them to excel and to commit |
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themselves to public service; and |
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WHEREAS, At the request of President Bill Clinton, she became |
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chair of the U.S. Commission on Immigration Reform in the mid-1990s |
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and held that office until her death; in 1994, President Clinton |
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honored her for her patriotism and outstanding service by awarding |
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her the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country's highest |
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civilian honor; and |
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WHEREAS, Barbara Jordan passed away in January 1996, but her |
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lifelong commitment to freedom, integrity, equality, and justice |
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resonates as powerfully today as it did in years past, and she is |
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indeed deserving of special recognition, on the anniversary of her |
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birth, in the state that she served so well; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 82nd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate February 21 through 27 of each year from 2011 |
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through 2020 as Barbara Jordan Freedom Week. |