Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has gone too soon. There was much more she wanted to do. Yet again, it seems that too often, the good die young.
Sheila Jackson Lee: Gone too soon.
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When Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee came onto my radar, I was not immediately enamored with her. She never seemed to miss an opportunity to be on camera or to make her presence known and seen. In my ignorance, even as I knew better, too often, one lets a false narrative take root.
As a woman, specifically a woman of color, a black woman, the Congresswoman had to make her space. She not only demanded her respect but also took it. Even though Jackson Lee earned it, the powers afford it to her. She learned the same teachings I learned from our Caribbean/Latin American upbringing: Don’t complain. Work ten times as hard and create your path. Well, she did just that. She used failure as the learning tree of success and service.
Losing early elections was just an instruction on how to win for Jackson Lee. She effectively used the camera and microphone to spread her notoriety and message.
I learned a big lesson in politics at the 2012 Democratic National Convention (DNC) in Charlotte, NC. I walked around the Texas Delegation Hotel, interviewing many of our Texas politicians, delegates, and their families. As I approached her for an interview, she asked me to hold on, and she hugged and addressed constituent after constituent. The bidirectional love and respect between her and her constituents was palpable. Most importantly, she placed them first. She addressed them before she took to my camera and microphone. I had already respected this woman. I left there loving her for understanding what a politician should be.
I have known many politicians. Sheila Jackson Lee was one of the real ones. There is now a crater in the House of Representatives that needs to be filled. Texas District 18 is used to having a congresswoman who cared for her constituents. Someone has enormous shoes to fill.
Here are a few interviews I did with Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee. She was always willing to discuss substantive issues.
Texas Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has gone too soon. She wanted and needed to do much more, from healthcare to family leave. Yet again, it seems too often the good die young.
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