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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, June 15, 2016, will mark 28 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 a voting |
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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 when he |
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helped found the Mexican American Youth Organization at St. Mary's |
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and also worked as an organizer for the United Farm Workers Union; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Prominent in a number of Latino political |
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organizations of the late 1960s and early 1970s, Mr. Velasquez |
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helped lay the groundwork for La Raza Unida, a political party |
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championing the rights of Mexican Americans, and for the National |
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Council of La Raza, which has become an important civil rights and |
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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 these efforts led |
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to the founding of the Southwest Voter Registration Education |
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Project in 1974; uniting behind the slogan Su Voto es Su Voz, "Your |
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Vote is Your Voice," SVREP set out to educate Hispanics about the |
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democratic process and urge them to take part in elections; by |
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conducting thousands of nonpartisan voter registration and |
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get-out-the-vote campaigns, SVREP has helped bring about a dramatic |
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increase in the number of Latino voters and Latino elected |
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officials, both in Texas and across the United States; 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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Americans; his efforts to expand the electorate and educate |
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citizens about a range of civic issues were a great and influential |
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contribution that continues to benefit all those throughout this |
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country who are committed to the concept of representative |
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democracy; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of William C. Velasquez |
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on June 15, 2016, the 28th 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. 79 was unanimously adopted by a rising |
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vote of the House on February 19, 2015. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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