HR368 - Recognizing March 19, 2025, as Texas NAACP Day at the State Capitol.

      H.R. No. 368       R E S O L U T I O N          WHEREAS, Members of the Texas State Conference of NAACP Units   are visiting the State Capitol on March 19, 2025, in celebration of   Texas NAACP Day; and          WHEREAS, For more than a century, the NAACP has played a   crucial role in the struggle for equal rights and justice; the   organization was founded in 1909 and grew rapidly as it set agendas   and developed tactics that would propel the civil rights movement   through the 20th century; early members of the group included   W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, and   Ida B. Wells; and          WHEREAS, The NAACP has drawn its strength as a grassroots   organization from a membership based in hundreds of communities   across the nation, and its local branches have been key to its   effectiveness; in Texas, the first chapter was established in   El Paso in 1915, and four more cities in the state gained branches   three years later; and          WHEREAS, In 1937, the Texas State Conference of NAACP Units   was established under the leadership of A. Maceo Smith, and the   organization gained traction as a sustained, statewide movement;   the conference expanded rapidly during and after World War II,   reaching a membership of almost 30,000 people in over 100 branches;   early victories included Supreme Court cases that ended Democratic   White primary elections and secured the admission of Heman   M. Sweatt to The University of Texas School of Law; public school   desegregation cases dragged on longer, tied up in the courts for   years while the NAACP confronted government retaliation; and          WHEREAS, Texas branches of the NAACP have continued to build   on the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Era; initiatives include   litigating redistricting cases and targeting discriminatory   practices in employment, housing, and the criminal justice system;   since 1991, that work has been guided by Gary Bledsoe, president of   the Texas NAACP; and          WHEREAS, For nearly nine decades, the Texas State Conference   of NAACP Units has advanced the cause of social justice, and through   their dedication as champions of equal rights, members across the   state are furthering the vital goals of this trailblazing   organization; now, therefore, be it          RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas   Legislature hereby recognize March 19, 2025, as Texas NAACP Day at   the State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to the members of the   Texas State Conference of NAACP Units.     Reynolds     ______________________________   Speaker of the House                 I certify that H.R. No. 368 was adopted by the House on April   17, 2025, by the following vote:  Yeas 133, Nays 7, 2 present, not   voting.     ______________________________   Chief Clerk of the House