July 23, 2024 Story by: Editor
Sheila Jackson Lee, a former Texas congresswoman, was a passionate advocate for Black Tulsans during her time in Washington, despite holding a seat representing Houston.
Jackson Lee, 74, passed away over the weekend after a battle with pancreatic cancer. Since 1995, she has represented the Houston area in the U.S. Capitol.
While she is widely recognized for her leadership in making Juneteenth a federal holiday, Jackson Lee also championed awareness of the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre. She advocated for reparations for the remaining survivors, supported the effort to declare Greenwood Avenue a national monument, and called for education reforms to ensure the massacre was taught more widely.
In 2021, Jackson Lee successfully passed a resolution commemorating the massacre’s centennial.
“If you can’t make it out, this is a Negro’s body with smoke coming out of it as occurred in 1921 when 300 were thrown in a mass grave, unnamed to this day,” Jackson Lee said in support of the resolution, showing a photo of a Black victim burned in the massacre.
Tiffany Crutcher, director of the Terence Crutcher Foundation, first connected with Jackson Lee during a meeting with the Congressional Black Caucus and families affected by police violence. Crutcher’s twin brother was unarmed when he was fatally shot by a Tulsa police officer in 2016.
Crutcher recalled Jackson Lee’s unwavering support when she pushed the Department of Justice to reopen an investigation into her brother’s death in 2021.
“She has shown up time and time again, and I’m devastated at her loss,” Crutcher said.
Though she mourns Jackson Lee, Crutcher believes that the ongoing fight is “in good hands” with the members of the Congressional Black Caucus continuing her legacy. Source: Public Radio Tulsa
