Bill Text: TX HR139 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Commemorating Reverberations of Memory, Violence, and History: A Conference for the Centennial of the 1919 Canales Investigation.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-01-31 - Reported enrolled [HR139 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-HR139-Enrolled.html
H.R. No. 139 |
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WHEREAS, The Bullock Texas State History Museum is hosting | ||
Reverberations of Memory, Violence, and History: A Conference for | ||
the Centennial of the 1919 Canales Investigation; and | ||
WHEREAS, Between 1910 and 1920, there was a period of racial | ||
conflict along the U.S.-Mexico border; in an effort to restore | ||
order, the Texas Rangers were dispatched to the region, but that | ||
resulted in increased bloodshed; the Rangers engaged in violence | ||
and heavy-handed discrimination against the Tejano civilian | ||
population, and it is estimated that as many as 5,000 ethnic | ||
Mexicans were killed by the Rangers between 1914 and 1919; and | ||
WHEREAS, In January 1919, Texas State Representative José | ||
T. Canales of Brownsville, the only state legislator of Hispanic | ||
descent at the time, filed 19 charges of misconduct against the | ||
Texas Rangers and demanded a legislative investigation into the | ||
force's actions; after hearing two weeks of testimony, a joint | ||
committee of the Texas house and senate issued a report | ||
recommending a reorganization of the Rangers; legislation was | ||
subsequently passed carrying out these reforms and also | ||
establishing specific procedures for citizen complaints against | ||
Ranger wrongdoing; and | ||
WHEREAS, The centennial conference taking place in Austin on | ||
January 31 and February 1, 2019, will offer an in-depth study of the | ||
Canales Investigation and its broader impact and legacy; the | ||
gathering will feature internationally recognized scholars and | ||
researchers who will deliver different perspectives on the history | ||
of extralegal violence in the United States and who will explore the | ||
connections between the events of the 1910s and contemporary | ||
developments related to border policing; and | ||
WHEREAS, The 1919 Canales Investigation stands as a pivotal | ||
episode that helped document racial injustice in the United States, | ||
and all those associated with the Reverberations of Memory, | ||
Violence, and History conference are to be commended for raising | ||
awareness of the investigation and its many lasting implications | ||
for our state and nation; now, therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas | ||
Legislature hereby commemorate Reverberations of Memory, Violence, | ||
and History: A Conference for the Centennial of the 1919 Canales | ||
Investigation and extend to the participants sincere best wishes | ||
for a productive event. | ||
Canales | ||
______________________________ | ||
Speaker of the House | ||
I certify that H.R. No. 139 was adopted by the House on | ||
January 30, 2019, by a non-record vote. | ||
______________________________ | ||
Chief Clerk of the House | ||