Bill Text: TX HR1324 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Reginald Wayne Moore of Houston.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-05-31 - Reported enrolled [HR1324 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR1324-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 1324 |
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WHEREAS, Reginald Wayne Moore of Houston passed away on July | ||
3, 2020, at the age of 60, leaving his loved ones and his many | ||
colleagues and admirers to reflect on his unwavering dedication to | ||
the pursuit of social justice and racial healing; and | ||
WHEREAS, A native of Houston, Reginald Moore was the son of | ||
Melvin Moore Roberts and Jerline Lee Moore and the brother of four | ||
siblings, Anthony, Sonya, Bridgette, and Cassandra; in 1978, he | ||
graduated from Jack Yates High School, where he was a talented | ||
member of the football team, and he went on to continue his studies | ||
at Northwestern State University of Louisiana; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Moore served as a state correctional officer | ||
from 1985 to 1988 and also worked for a time as a longshoreman and a | ||
real estate agent and broker; while a guard at the Jester State | ||
Prison Farm outside of Sugar Land, he began researching the history | ||
of convict leasing, a form of forced labor that was used to exploit | ||
Black inmates after the abolishment of slavery; following his | ||
retirement, he dedicated himself full-time to the project, but he | ||
had little success in bringing attention to the brutality of the | ||
system until 2018, when a mass unmarked grave containing the | ||
remains of 95 African American convict laborers was unearthed on | ||
the grounds of a former state prison farm in Fort Bend County; and | ||
WHEREAS, Mr. Moore's decades-long research efforts were | ||
validated by the discovery of the so-called "Sugar Land 95," which | ||
made headlines internationally; that same year, he founded the | ||
Convict Leasing and Labor Project, and he continued to collaborate | ||
and share his findings with other historians and researchers; one | ||
of his proudest achievements was his persuasive testimony before | ||
the Texas Board of Education that led to the approval of the state's | ||
first African American studies course as a high school elective; | ||
and | ||
WHEREAS, A devoted husband and father, Mr. Moore was blessed | ||
with the love and support of his wife of 21 years, Marilyn Collins | ||
Moore, and he cherished his five children, Reginald Jeremy, El | ||
Xemenes Love, Tirhakah Tarique Love, Mario Hinkle, and Rhae Hinkle, | ||
as well as his nieces and nephews; and | ||
WHEREAS, Through his uncompromising quest for the truth, | ||
Reginald Moore played a vital role in addressing the insidious | ||
legacy of convict leasing and restoring dignity to its victims, and | ||
his memory will forever be treasured by the many people whose lives | ||
he touched; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby pay tribute to the life of Reginald Wayne Moore | ||
and extend deepest sympathy to all those who mourn his passing; and, | ||
be it further | ||
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
prepared for his family and that when the Texas House of | ||
Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Reginald | ||
Moore. | ||
Reynolds | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 1324 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
rising vote of the House on May 26, 2021. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||