Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a 15-term Democrat from Houston who whose record includes being the chief House sponsor of the 2021 resolution making Juneteenth a federal holiday, died on Friday at the age of 74. A survivor of breast cancer, she revealed in June she had pancreatic 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,” Jackson Lee’s family said in a statement released from her office.
A statement from the Congressional Black Caucus, in which she had served as whip and chair of the foundation, called her a “titan and stalwart member of Congress.” House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., called Jackson Lee “an inimitable force for change.”
