Houston Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee Dies at 74

Sheila Jackson Lee, a longtime U.S. Representative from Texas who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and make Juneteenth a national holiday, has died. She was 74.

Lillie Conley, his chief of staff, confirmed that Jackson Lee, who had pancreatic cancer, died Friday evening in Houston, surrounded by his family.

The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1995. She had previously had breast cancer and announced her diagnosis of pancreatic cancer on June 2.

“The road ahead will not be easy, but I have faith that God will strengthen me,” Jackson Lee said in a statement.

Bishop James Dixon, a longtime friend in Houston who visited Jackson Lee earlier this week, said he will remember her as a fighter.

“She was a person of rare refinement, who tirelessly gave everything she had to make sure others had what they needed. That was Sheila,” he said.

Jackson Lee had just been elected to the Houston district formerly represented by Barbara Jordan, the first black woman elected to Congress from a Southern state since Reconstruction, when she was immediately placed on the high-profile House Judiciary Committee in 1995.

“They just saw me, I guess through my profile, through Barbara Jordan’s work,” Jackson Lee told the Houston Chronicle in 2022. “I thought it was an honor because they thought I was going to be the person that they needed.”

Lee quickly established herself as a fierce advocate for women and minorities, and a leader of House Democrats on a range of social justice issues, from police reform to reparations for the descendants of slaves. She led the first overhaul of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender and immigrant women.

Jackson Lee was also a leading lawmaker behind the 2021 effort to have Juneteenth recognized as the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King, Jr. Day was created in 1986. The holiday commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved African Americans in Galveston, Texas, finally learned of their freedom.

A native of Queens, New York, Jackson Lee graduated from Yale and received her law degree from the University of Virginia. She served as a judge in Houston before being elected to the Houston City Council in 1989 and then ran for Congress in 1994. She has been an advocate for gay rights and was an early opponent of the Iraq War in 2003.

Top Democrats in Congress quickly responded to the news Friday night, praising his commitment and work ethic.

Rep. James Clyburn of South Carolina called her “a tenacious defender of civil rights and a tireless fighter for bettering the lives of her constituents.”

Rep. Jamie Raskin of Maryland said he had never known a lawmaker as hard-working as Jackson Lee, saying she “studied every bill and every amendment with precision and then told Texas and America exactly what her position was.”

Former California House Speaker Nancy Pelosi cited Lee’s “unwavering determination” in getting Juneteenth declared a national holiday.

“As a powerful voice in Congress for our Constitution and our human rights, she fought tirelessly to advance fairness, equity, and justice for all,” Pelosi said.

Texas Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said he and his wife Cecilia will always remember Jackson Lee, calling her a “tireless advocate for the people of Houston.”

“His legacy of public service and dedication to Texas will live on,” he said.

Jackson Lee has consistently won re-election to Congress without difficulty. On the rare occasions she has faced an opponent, she has never received less than two-thirds of the vote. Lee considered leaving Congress in 2023 to run for Houston’s first black female mayor, but was defeated in a runoff. She then easily won the Democratic nomination for the 2024 general election.

During the mayoral campaign, Jackson Lee expressed regret and said “everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect” after the release of an unverified audio recording purporting to be of the lawmaker berating staff members.

In 2019, Jackson Lee resigned from two leadership positions on the House Judiciary Committee and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Congressional Black Caucus, following a lawsuit by a former staffer who said his sexual assault complaint was mishandled.

In a statement, Jackson Lee’s family said she was a beloved wife, sister, mother and grandmother known as Bebe.

“She will be greatly missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire all who believe in freedom, justice and democracy,” the statement said. “God bless you, Congresswoman, and God bless the United States of America.”