Several days of ceremonies commemorating the life of long-serving U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas began on Monday with her lying in state at Houston’s city hall.
President Joe Biden was scheduled to visit Houston on Monday evening to pay his respects to Jackson Lee, as confirmed by the White House.
Biden praised Jackson Lee for her unwavering leadership on matters such as racial justice and the economy for working people.
Jackson Lee, who championed federal efforts to combat domestic violence and establish Juneteenth as a national holiday, passed away at 74 on July 19 after battling pancreatic cancer.
Her body will rest in Houston’s city hall rotunda for 10 hours on Monday.
Representing her Houston district and the nation’s fourth-largest city since 1995, Jackson Lee previously fought breast cancer and disclosed her pancreatic cancer diagnosis on June 2.
Mayor John Whitmire, along with Jackson Lee’s family members and religious leaders, will participate in a prayer service Monday morning at city hall before the rotunda opens to the public.
Whitmire invited everyone to pay respects to Jackson Lee and honor her dedication to the community.
Before her congressional tenure, Jackson Lee served on Houston’s city council from 1990 to 1994.
She will be only the second individual to lie in state in Houston’s city hall rotunda, following renowned cardiovascular surgeon Dr. Michael DeBakey in 2008.
Jackson Lee will also be honored during viewings and services on Tuesday and Wednesday before her funeral on Thursday.
Vice President Kamala Harris is slated to attend the funeral service in Houston.
Upon her initial election, Jackson Lee emerged as a fierce advocate for women and minorities, leading initiatives on social justice matters like policing reform and reparations for descendants of enslaved individuals.
She spearheaded the first reworking of the Violence Against Women Act in nearly a decade, incorporating safeguards for Native American, transgender, and immigrant women.
Jackson Lee consistently secured reelection to Congress and pursued a mayoral bid in Houston last year without success.
