Tribute to Sheila Jackson Lee, Houston’s tireless political icon

Sheila Jackson Lee, one of Texas’ longest-serving and most prominent members of Congress, died July 19 of pancreatic cancer at age 74. Lee was a ubiquitous figure in Houston politics, instantly recognizable by her jewel-toned outfits and the halo braids that surrounded her head like a crown. To her detractors, she was Queen Sheila—imperious, impatient, and self-important. To her supporters, she was a tireless champion of the oppressed and a symbol of Black power. In 2021, she played a leading role in making Juneteenth the first new national holiday in 38 years. It’s one of her proudest achievements in nearly four decades representing Texas’ 18th Congressional District, a seat once held by civil rights icons Barbara Jordan and Mickey Leland.

The future congresswoman was born in Queens, New York, in 1950 to day laborer Ezra Clyde Jackson, a first-generation Jamaican immigrant, and nurse Ivalita Bennett Jackson. After graduating from Jamaica High School, Jackson Lee attended Yale University, the first coeducational class there. There she met classmate Elwyn Cornelius Lee, a Houston native, whom she married in 1973. After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science, Jackson Lee attended the University of Virginia Law School, while her husband attended Yale Law School. In the late 1970s, they moved to Houston, where Jackson Lee took a job at the prestigious law firm Fulbright & Jaworski, while her husband took a teaching position at the University of Houston, where he would spend the rest of his career.

Jackson Lee stayed at Fulbright & Jaworski for two years before moving on to other firms. But her real ambition was politics. She lost her first three elections: two for district judge and one for probate judge. Finally, in 1989, she was elected to the Houston City Council, defeating former city controller Leonel Castillo in a frenetic campaign in which she honed her advertising skills. She served two full terms on the council and had just won a third when, in 1994, she decided to challenge incumbent Democrat Craig Washington for the 18th Congressional District seat.

It was a bold move. Washington was a prominent lawyer and well-known political figure in the majority-black district, while Jackson Lee was initially seen as an upstart from New York. “We were fighting the (black) establishment,” recalled Willie Isles, a key Lee supporter. “She didn’t grow up in the Fifth Ward, and it’s been a game between the Fifth and Third Wards for years.” But Jackson Lee highlighted Washington’s frequent absences in Washington, D.C., by presenting herself as a more effective advocate for her constituents. It worked: In the Democratic primary, Jackson Lee won 63 percent of the vote to Washington’s 37 percent before handily beating her Republican opponent in the general election.

In the Republican-controlled Congress, Lee initially struggled to gain traction. She alienated her Democratic colleagues with her brash style and her insistence on amending nearly every bill that passed through her committees. Of the 40 or so amendments she introduced in her first term, only two passed: one increasing funding for the African Development Foundation and another requiring the State Department to consider Ethiopia’s human rights record before providing aid to the country. Eager to avoid her predecessor’s mistake of ignoring her constituency, she spoke nearly every day on the House floor and had her staff issue constant press releases about her activities. Back in her constituency, she made a point of attending every community event possible, including the funerals of her constituents – a habit she would continue throughout her political career.

Jackson Lee also earned an enduring reputation as a tough boss. She rotated 19 staffers during her first term, a turnover rate of 180 percent. Even as she won election after election at home, she became a notorious figure on Capitol Hill for her alleged mistreatment of staff. In 2010, Washingtonian The magazine named her the meanest member of Congress. In 2023, an audio recording of Lee berating a staff member was anonymously leaked. Following the release, Lee expressed remorse, stating that “everyone deserves to be treated with dignity and respect, and that includes my own staff.”

Still, Lee’s voters remained loyal. She won fourteen consecutive terms in Congress, facing only token opposition. Even as the demographics of her district shifted—from 51 percent Black in 1990 to 31 percent in 2020—Lee maintained a personal connection to the community, many of whom considered her family. And as she gained seniority in Congress, she became more effective, helping create the 9/11 Victims’ Compensation Fund, securing disaster relief after Hurricane Harvey, and serving on the powerful Budget, Homeland Security, and Judiciary committees.

“You have to understand how Congress works,” Jackson Lee told this magazine in February 2024. “Congress is a creature of bipartisanship, collaboration and seniority. You have to have all of those elements to get your legislation passed.”

In 2023, after nearly three decades in Congress, Jackson Lee shocked the Houston political world by announcing her candidacy for mayor of Houston. If the race was a test of her citywide appeal, it didn’t work out: after finishing second to Democratic Senator John Whitmire in the general election, she lost by nearly thirty points in the runoff. Contrary to local speculation, this defeat did not end Jackson Lee’s political career. Two days later, Jackson Lee announced that she was running for a fourteenth term in Congress. Despite a stronger-than-usual challenge from former Houston City Councilmember Amanda Edwards, Jackson Lee was reelected handily. She continued to represent her district until her death.

In the 1990s, a reporter asked Jackson Lee’s father to explain his extraordinary rise to power. “I don’t know where she got that drive, but she’s always had it,” his father replied. “She’s always been like that.”