Bill Text: TX HR251 | 2021 | 87th Legislature 3rd Special Session | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of transgender advocate and journalist Monica Roberts of Houston.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)
Status: (Passed) 2021-10-26 - Reported enrolled [HR251 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR251-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 251 | ||
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| WHEREAS, A remarkable life dedicated to the rights of | ||
| transgender people drew to a close with the death of Monica Katrice | ||
| Roberts of Houston on October 5, 2020, at the age of 58; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Monica Roberts was born in Houston on May 4, 1962, to | ||
| Mable and Rick Roberts; a 1980 graduate of Jesse H. Jones High | ||
| School, she went on to earn her bachelor's degree from the | ||
| University of Houston; early in her career, she lived in | ||
| Louisville, Kentucky, and worked a variety of jobs before returning | ||
| to Houston; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 2004, Ms. Roberts began writing a newspaper | ||
| column called TransGriot, and in 2006, she moved the column to the | ||
| Internet, where it became a pioneering and influential blog, | ||
| telling the stories of the transgender community at a time when they | ||
| were ignored, dismissed, and misrepresented by mainstream media; | ||
| the blog chronicled the lives and history of Black transpeople and | ||
| reported on violence faced by the trans community, especially trans | ||
| women of color; she also fought the misgendering of trans murder | ||
| victims in police and news reports, and she regularly wrote for | ||
| Ebony.com, HuffPost, The Advocate, and other publications; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In addition to her work as a journalist, Ms. Roberts | ||
| cofounded the National Transgender Advocacy Coalition in 1999 and | ||
| served as the coalition's lobby chair from 1999 to 2002, and she | ||
| served on the board of the Fairness Campaign in Louisville and | ||
| organized the Transsistahs-Transbrothas Conference in that city | ||
| for two consecutive years; for two decades, she also regularly | ||
| advocated at the Texas Capitol in Austin for the rights of LGBTQIA+ | ||
| people; and | ||
| WHEREAS, TransGriot was honored as outstanding blog at the | ||
| GLAAD Media Awards in 2018 and 2021, and Ms. Roberts was the first | ||
| Texas African American to win the IFGE Trinity Award and the first | ||
| openly trans African American to receive the Virginia Prince | ||
| Transgender Pioneer Award from Fantasia Fair; her many other awards | ||
| included a 2016 Special Recognition Award from GLAAD, the Robert | ||
| Coles Call of Service Award from the Phillips Brooks House | ||
| Association, the John Walzel Equality Award from the Human Rights | ||
| Campaign, and the Susan J. Hyde Award for Longevity in the Movement | ||
| from the National LGBTQ Task Force; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A pioneering Black trans woman of great vision, | ||
| determination, and courage, Monica Roberts was a heroic champion | ||
| for her community, and those she has left behind will forever find | ||
| inspiration in all that she achieved; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
| Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby pay tribute to the memory | ||
| of Monica Katrice Roberts and extend heartfelt sympathy to the | ||
| members of her family: to her mother, Mable Roberts; to her | ||
| siblings, Kevin, Kecia, and Latoya Roberts; to her dear friend, Dee | ||
| Dee Watters; and to her other relatives and many friends and | ||
| admirers across the Lone Star State and beyond; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be | ||
| prepared for her family and that when the Texas House of | ||
| Representatives adjourns this day, it do so in memory of Monica | ||
| Roberts. | ||
| González of El Paso | ||
| González of Dallas | ||
| Zwiener | ||
| Johnson of Dallas | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 251 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
| rising vote of the House on October 18, 2021. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
