US Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas to lie in state at Houston city hall
HOUSTON — Several days of events honoring the life of the former U.S. representative. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas were set to begin Monday, with lawmakers lying in state at Houston City Hall.
According to the White House, President Joe Biden would also come to Houston on Monday evening to pay his respects to Jackson Lee.
“No matter the issue — from delivering racial justice to building an economy for working people — she was relentless in her leadership,” Biden said in a statement after Jackson Lee’s death.
The congresswoman, who helped lead federal efforts to protect women from domestic violence and Juneteenth as a national holiday, she was 74 when she died on July 19 from pancreatic cancer.
Her body will lie in state for 10 hours in the rotunda of Houston City Hall on Monday.
The Democrat has represented her district in Houston and the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1995. She previously had breast cancer and announced the diagnosis of pancreatic cancer on June 2nd.
Mayor John Whitmire, along with family members of Jackson Lee and religious leaders, is expected to participate in a prayer service on the steps of City Hall Monday morning before the rotunda opens to the public.
“Congresswoman Jackson Lee was a dedicated fighter for the people of Houston for decades. I invite everyone to visit City Hall to honor this true public servant and her unwavering dedication to our community,” Whitmire said.
Before being elected to Congress, Jackson Lee served on the Houston City Council from 1990 to 1994.
She is the second person to have the honor of lying in state in the rotunda of Houston City Hall. The other was renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey, who died in 2008.
Jackson Lee will also be remembered at memorial services and celebrations on Tuesday and Wednesday, leading up to her funeral on Thursday.
Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to attend the funeral service in Houston.
After her first election, Jackson Lee quickly established herself as a fierce advocate for women and minorities and a leader for House Democrats on many social justice issues, from police reform to reparations for descendants of enslaved people. She led the first rewrite of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, including protections for Native American, transgender, and immigrant women.
Jackson Lee routinely won re-election to Congress with ease. She walked without success to become mayor of Houston last year.
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