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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Reies López Tijerina, a civil rights activist and a |
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central figure in the Chicano land grant movement, passed away on |
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January 19, 2015, at the age of 88; and |
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WHEREAS, Reies Tijerina was born on September 21, 1926, near |
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Falls City, to a family of migrant workers of Spanish-Mexican and |
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indigenous descent; he began working the fields at the age of four |
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and learned of injustices experienced by Mexican migrants, |
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including the near-lynching of his grandfather, and those memories |
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kindled his desire for political change; and |
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WHEREAS, While a young man, Mr. Tijerina studied at the |
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Assemblies of God Bible Institute and briefly served as a |
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Pentecostal minister before helping to establish a cooperative |
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village in Arizona; in 1957, he settled in New Mexico, and it was |
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there that he became involved with the cause that would guide the |
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course of his life; he was moved by the plight of families in the |
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area whose land had been confiscated by Anglo surveyors after the |
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signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, and he joined |
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them in petitioning the Mexican government to help resolve their |
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grievances; and |
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WHEREAS, Believing that the historical dispossession of land |
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rights was a major cause of poverty for many Mexicans, Mr. Tijerina |
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founded La Alianza Federal de Mercedes in 1963 and began a campaign |
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to compel the U.S. government to investigate treaty violations; he |
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led the group in an act of civil disobedience at the Echo |
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Amphitheater in northern New Mexico and orchestrated a |
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confrontation at a New Mexico courthouse with the intent of |
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performing a citizen's arrest of the local district attorney; he |
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was found not guilty for charges brought concerning his involvement |
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in the raid but ultimately sentenced to a year in jail for |
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destruction of federal property; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Tijerina continued to dedicate himself to |
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advancing social progress for Latinos; he worked to heighten |
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awareness of discrimination and promote economic opportunity, and |
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he championed the rights of Hispanic Americans to speak Spanish and |
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preserve their culture and heritage; moreover, his message became a |
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catalyst for years of legal battles over land ownership claims; and |
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WHEREAS, A fiery orator who drew on his days as an evangelist, |
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Mr. Tijerina appeared at numerous speaking engagements up until the |
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date of his passing; he was among the first Chicano activists to |
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align with African American civil rights leaders, and following an |
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invitation from Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., he served as the Latino |
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leader of the 1968 Poor People's Campaign march at the nation's |
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capital; and |
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WHEREAS, Mr. Tijerina spent the final decade of his life in |
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El Paso, and he published an autobiography, They Called Me "King |
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Tiger": My Struggle for the Land and Our Rights; in 2009, he was |
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recognized for his life's work by the Mexican Consulate in El Paso, |
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and he was presented with a key to the city of Las Vegas, New Mexico, |
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in 2011; he is survived by his wife, Esperanza, and 8 of his 10 |
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children; and |
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WHEREAS, Reies Tijerina was unflinching in his quest to |
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secure for his people the full rights of citizenship, and he leaves |
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behind a legacy that will long endure; 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 memory of Reies López |
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Tijerina and extend deepest condolences to all those who mourn his |
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passing. |