HOUSTON — Several days of events honoring the life of longtime U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas were set to begin Monday with the lawmaker lying in state in Houston’s city hall.
President Joe Biden also was scheduled to come to Houston Monday evening to pay his respects to Jackson Lee, according to the White House.
“No matter the issue — from delivering racial justice to building an economy for working people — she was unrelenting 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 recognize Juneteenth as a national holiday, was 74 when she died on July 19 after battling pancreatic cancer.
Her body will lie in state in Houston’s city hall rotunda for 10 hours on Monday.
The Democrat had represented her Houston-based district and the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1995. She previously had breast cancer and announced the pancreatic cancer diagnosis on June 2.
Mayor John Whitmire, along with members of Jackson Lee’s family and religious leaders, are expected to take part in a prayer service Monday morning on the steps of city hall before the rotunda is opened to the public.
“For decades, Congresswoman Jackson Lee was a dedicated fighter for Houstonians. I invite everyone to visit city hall to pay tribute to this true public servant and honor her unwavering commitment to our community,” Whitmire said.
Before being elected to Congress, Jackson Lee served on Houston’s city council from 1990 to 1994.
She is set to be only the second person to be granted the honor of lying in state in Houston’s city hall rotunda. The other was renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey, who died in 2008.
Jackson Lee also is set to be remembered at viewings and services on Tuesday and Wednesday before her funeral Thursday.
Vice President Kamala Harris was scheduled to attend the funeral service in Houston.
After first being elected, Jackson Lee quickly established herself as 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 routinely won reelection to Congress with ease. She unsuccessfully ran to be Houston’s mayor last year.
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