Sheila Jackson Lee, long-serving Democratic congresswoman and advocate for Black Americans, dies at 74

U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee has died.She was 74.Jackson Lee, who has represented Texas’ 18th Congressional District for nearly three decades, revealed her battle with pancreatic cancer in June.The Queens, New York native and daughter of a comic book artist attended Yale University and the University of Virginia where she obtained her law degree.While she was in college, she met the man who would become her husband, Elwyn Lee, in 1973. He took a job at the University of Houston as a law professor and that led the New Yorkers to travel to Houston.However, while in Houston, Jackson Lee had political aspirations and attempted to run for judgeships in Houston, but was unsuccessful three times.Then in the late 80s, Jackson Lee was appointed to a municipal judge seat by then-Houston Mayor Kathy Whitmire.However, after receiving that position, Jackson Lee had bigger political aspirations and ran for a seat on the Houston City Council in 1989, which she won.She later set her sights on the 18th Congressional District in 1994 where she defeated Congressman Craig Washington.Many will remember Jackson Lee for her focus on a progressive agenda, including, but not limited to, social justice, racial issues, LGBTQ rights and immigration.The post...