Bill Text: TX HR34 | 2017 | 85th Legislature 1st Special Session | Introduced
NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft
Bill Title: Recognizing July 18, 2017, as Nelson Mandela International Day.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-07-19 - Reported enrolled [HR34 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR34-Introduced.html
Bill Title: Recognizing July 18, 2017, as Nelson Mandela International Day.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-07-19 - Reported enrolled [HR34 Detail]
Download: Texas-2017-HR34-Introduced.html
85S10938 JCD-D | ||
By: Giddings | H.R. No. 34 |
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WHEREAS, Each year, the date of July 18 is recognized as | ||
Nelson Mandela International Day, providing a welcome opportunity | ||
to celebrate the life of a courageous and inspirational figure who | ||
is revered around the globe; and | ||
WHEREAS, Born into the Tembu tribe in the Transkei region of | ||
South Africa in 1918, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela earned a degree | ||
from University College of Fort Hare and studied law at the | ||
University of Witwatersrand; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 1944, Mr. Mandela joined the African National | ||
Congress, and he soon became actively engaged in resistance against | ||
the racist apartheid policies of South Africa's ruling National | ||
Party; as part of that effort, he helped launch the "Defiance" | ||
campaign of civil disobedience in 1952; the government responded by | ||
trying him for treason in the late 1950s, though he was ultimately | ||
acquitted of that charge; and | ||
WHEREAS, After the Sharpeville Massacre of 69 anti-apartheid | ||
protestors in 1960, the ANC was banned, and Mr. Mandela began | ||
advocating for armed resistance to the government; arrested in | ||
1962, he was sentenced to five years of hard labor, and in a | ||
separate trial that began the following year, he was sentenced to | ||
life in prison; and | ||
WHEREAS, From 1964 to 1982, Mr. Mandela was jailed in a small | ||
cell on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town, and he was later | ||
incarcerated at two prisons on the mainland; during his 25 years as | ||
a prisoner, he endured harsh conditions while steadfastly refusing | ||
to compromise his belief in justice and equal rights for all South | ||
Africans; his valiant stand helped strengthen opposition to | ||
apartheid, both within South Africa and around the world; and | ||
WHEREAS, The anti-apartheid movement achieved one of its | ||
greatest victories in 1990, when Mr. Mandela was released from | ||
prison, and he soon became a key figure in the negotiations to | ||
dismantle the country's unjust system of government; he received | ||
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, and the following year he was elected | ||
as South Africa's president in the nation's first multiracial | ||
election; and | ||
WHEREAS, In 2009, the General Assembly of the United Nations | ||
voted unanimously to commemorate his birthday each year as Nelson | ||
Mandela International Day; this observance emphasizes the ability | ||
of individuals to effect positive change in their communities, and | ||
it serves as a continuing reminder of the legacy of Mr. Mandela, who | ||
passed away on December 5, 2013, at the age of 95; and | ||
WHEREAS, Over the course of his life, Nelson Mandela followed | ||
a difficult and often lonely path in the pursuit of justice; | ||
starting as an idealistic student determined to make his country a | ||
better place, he went on to become a resolute and determined | ||
prisoner of conscience and, finally, an admired international | ||
figure who symbolizes the victory of freedom over oppression; now, | ||
therefore, be it | ||
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 85th Texas | ||
Legislature, 1st Called Session, hereby recognize July 18, 2017, as | ||
Nelson Mandela International Day. |