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 and had also previously had breast cancer.
“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.
Bishop James Dixon, a longtime friend in Houston who visited Jackson Lee earlier this week, said he would remember her as a fighter.
“She was just a rare, rare jewel of a person who relentlessly 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 once 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 assumed I was going to be the person they needed.”
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 policing reform to reparations for descendants of enslaved people.
She led the first rewrite of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, which included protections for Native American, transgender and immigrant women.
Jackson Lee was also among the lead lawmakers behind the effort in 2021 to have Juneteenth recognized as the first new federal holiday since Martin Luther King Jr Day was established in 1986.
The holiday marks the day in 1865 that 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 earned her law degree at the University of Virginia.
She was a judge in Houston before she was elected to Houston city council in 1989, then ran for Congress in 1994. She was an advocate for gay rights and an early opponent of the Iraq war in 2003.
Top congressional Democrats reacted quickly to the news on Friday night, praising her commitment and work ethic.
Representative James Clyburn of South Carolina called her “a tenacious advocate for civil rights and a tireless fighter, improving the lives of her constituents”.
Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland said he had never known a harder-working lawmaker than Jackson Lee, saying she “studied every bill and every amendment with exactitude and then told Texas and America exactly where she stood”.
Former House speaker Nancy Pelosi of California cited Jackson Lee’s “relentless determination” in getting Juneteenth declared a national holiday.
“As a powerful voice in the Congress for our constitution and human rights, she fought tirelessly to advance fairness, equity and justice for all,” Pelosi said.
Republican Texas governor Greg Abbott said he and his wife, Cecilia, would always remember Jackson Lee, calling her a “tireless advocate for the people of Houston”.
“Her legacy of public service and dedication to Texas will live on,” he said.
Jackson Lee routinely won re-election to Congress with ease. The few times she faced a challenger, she never carried less than two-thirds of the vote.
Jackson Lee considered leaving Congress in 2023 in a bid to become Houston’s first female Black mayor but was defeated in a runoff. She then easily won the Democratic nomination for this year’s 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 purported to be of the lawmaker berating staff members.
In 2019, Jackson Lee stepped down from two leadership positions on the House judiciary committee and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, the fundraising arm of the Congressional Black Caucus, after a lawsuit from a former employee who said her sexual assault complaint had been mishandled.
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.
Jackson Lee’s family said in their statement that she had been a beloved wife, sister, mother and grandmother known as Bebe.
“She will be dearly 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.”
Reuters and Associated Press contributed to this report
