US representative Sheila Jackson Lee, a strong progressive voice in the Democratic party who was outspoken on African American and women’s rights, has died, her family posted on X late on Friday.
Jackson Lee, of Texas, announced last month she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment. She was 74, according to US media.
“A fierce champion of the people, 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,” her family said in the statement.
Jackson Lee, who represented parts of Houston, introduced legislation in the House of Representatives to make “Juneteenth” a federal holiday commemorating the end of the legal enslavement of Black Americans.
The holiday marks the day in 1865 when a Union general informed a group of enslaved people in Texas that they had been made free two years earlier by President Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation during the Civil War.
Jackson Lee had been in Congress since 1995. In March, she staved off an intra-party challenge from former congressional intern Amanda Edwards, capturing 60% of the votes cast in the district and setting the stage for her to run for re-election in November.
She also leaned on her tenure and popularity in her congressional district to run for mayor of Houston in December. But she lost to fellow Democrat and former state senator John Whitmire by a margin of 65% to about 35%.
Jackson Lee was one of a handful of congressional Black Caucus members who were arrested in Washington DC in the summer of 2021 while protesting against delays in passing legislation to protect voting rights.
She was demonstrating outside the Hart Senate office building alongside other protesters at the time of her arrest.
“Any action that is a peaceful action of civil disobedience is worthy and more – to push all of us to do better,” Jackson Lee, whose state is one of the hardest places to vote in the US, said at the time.
Reuters contributed to this report
