Sheila Jackson Lee, long-serving Democratic congresswoman and advocate for Black Americans, dies at 74

CNN
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Sheila Jackson Lee, a longtime Democratic congresswoman from Texas who was an outspoken advocate for Black Americans for decades, has died. She was 74.

“Today, with incredible grief for our loss yet deep gratitude for the life she shared with us, we announce the passing of United States Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of the 18th Congressional District of Texas,” her family said in a statement Friday.

Jackson Lee announced in June that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. At the time, she acknowledged that “the road ahead will not be easy” and said she had “faith that God will strengthen me.”

Her family remembered her as “a fierce champion of the people,” saying that “she was affectionately and simply known as ‘Congresswoman’ by her constituents in recognition of her near-ubiquitous presence and service to their daily lives for more than 30 years.”

Born on January 12, 1950, in Queens, New York, Jackson Lee was among the first women to graduate from Yale University and served as a Houston municipal judge and a city councilwoman before she was first elected to represent Texas’ 18th Congressional District in 1994, unseating a Democratic incumbent in the primary for the Houston-area seat.

During her congressional tenure, Jackson Lee was an outspoken advocate for progressive interests and Black Americans. She was one of the sponsors of legislation to establish Juneteenth as a national holiday, frequently spoke out against police brutality and advocated federal legislation to prosecute police misconduct.

She was widely admired among progressives for her opposition to the Iraq War and was a fierce critic of former President Donald Trump. She opposed the tallying of electoral votes certifying Trump as the winner of the 2016 election, citing an unfounded claim about “massive voter suppression,” and occasionally used her position on the House Judiciary Committee to excoriate members of Trump’s circle.

Although she was unsuccessful in some of her most ambitious aims, Jackson Lee remained an advocate for racial justice, particularly in the wake of George Floyd’s killing at the hands of police in 2020.

“We will not stop until the nation knows Black lives matter, and reparations are passed as the most significant civil rights legislation of the 21st century,” Jackson Lee said at a march in Washington in 2020.

At the time of her death, she was a chief deputy whip for House Democrats and a vice chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus. She formerly served as whip of the Congressional Black Caucus.

“Congresswoman Jackson Lee was a patriot and a fighter to the very end. Words cannot express the sense of loss our Caucus feels for our beloved friend. She will be deeply missed by all who knew her,” Congressional Black Caucus Chairman Steven Horsford and members of the Congressional Black Caucus said in a statement following her death.

Jackson Lee’s tenure in Congress was not without controversy. Her ties to Enron – her district included the corporation’s headquarters and it was a major contributor to her early congressional campaigns, The New York Times reported – were scrutinized in the aftermath of the company’s failure in the early 2000s, though she denied taking it easy on the company.

And in 2019, she resigned as chairwoman of the nonprofit Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and stepped down from a House Judiciary subcommittee chairmanship after a lawsuit that alleged she fired a staffer who reported sexual assault by a supervisor at the foundation. At the time, Jackson Lee declined to “discuss specific details about internal personnel matters” but otherwise denied the allegations, and the lawsuit was ultimately dismissed by a federal judge in February 2020.

Last year, Lee sought the Houston mayorship, earning endorsements from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former President Bill Clinton, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo. She lost in a runoff to Texas state Sen. John Whitmire, a fellow Democrat.

Following that loss, Jackson Lee filed to seek a 16th term in Congress, and in March, she won a competitive Democratic primary over former Houston City Council Member Amanda Edwards, a former intern.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement that House Democrats and the city of Houston “mourn a giant,” remembering the congresswoman as “an accomplished legislator, passionate public servant, loving mentor and wonderful friend to so many of us in the Congressional Black Caucus and House Democratic Caucus family.”

“I am grateful for her fearless advocacy, fierce determination, formidable service and legacy of leadership,” Jeffries said.

Calling her death a “tremendous loss,” Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer wrote on X that the congresswoman “fought so hard throughout her life to make our country a better place for all.”

“I have never known a harder-working political leader than Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, who studied every bill and every amendment with exactitude and then told Texas and America exactly where she stood,” Maryland Rep. Jamie Raskin said on X.

On CNN’s “Laura Coates Live,” fellow Texas Rep. Al Green remembered Jackson Lee as “someone in Congress that was always, always working to bring about a just resolution to any problem,” adding that she helped him become a better congressman.

In Congress, she developed a reputation for grabbing a seat close to the entranceway in the House chamber for the president’s annual State of the Union address so she could engage with the commander in chief. It wasn’t for the photo opportunities, she insisted to The Huffington Post in 2016, it was also an opportunity to quickly conduct business with presidents.

As to why she was able to gain regular access to such a prized perch, she said, “Because of so many good friends, I am welcomed in that seat.”

Funeral arrangements are pending, according to the family.

“Her legislative victories impacted millions, from establishing the Juneteenth Federal Holiday to reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act. However, she impacted us most as our beloved wife, sister, mother, and Bebe (grandmother),” her family said Friday. “She will be dearly missed, but her legacy will continue to inspire all who believe in freedom, justice, and democracy.”

This story has been updated with additional details.

CNN’s Chandelis Duster contributed to this report.