Bill Text: TX HR368 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Recognizing March 19, 2025, as Texas NAACP Day at the State Capitol.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Passed) 2025-04-21 - Reported enrolled [HR368 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HR368-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 368 | ||
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| WHEREAS, Members of the Texas State Conference of NAACP Units | ||
| are visiting the State Capitol on March 19, 2025, in celebration of | ||
| Texas NAACP Day; and | ||
| WHEREAS, For more than a century, the NAACP has played a | ||
| crucial role in the struggle for equal rights and justice; the | ||
| organization was founded in 1909 and grew rapidly as it set agendas | ||
| and developed tactics that would propel the civil rights movement | ||
| through the 20th century; early members of the group included | ||
| W. E. B. Du Bois, Mary White Ovington, Moorfield Storey, and | ||
| Ida B. Wells; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The NAACP has drawn its strength as a grassroots | ||
| organization from a membership based in hundreds of communities | ||
| across the nation, and its local branches have been key to its | ||
| effectiveness; in Texas, the first chapter was established in | ||
| El Paso in 1915, and four more cities in the state gained branches | ||
| three years later; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 1937, the Texas State Conference of NAACP Units | ||
| was established under the leadership of A. Maceo Smith, and the | ||
| organization gained traction as a sustained, statewide movement; | ||
| the conference expanded rapidly during and after World War II, | ||
| reaching a membership of almost 30,000 people in over 100 branches; | ||
| early victories included Supreme Court cases that ended Democratic | ||
| White primary elections and secured the admission of Heman | ||
| M. Sweatt to The University of Texas School of Law; public school | ||
| desegregation cases dragged on longer, tied up in the courts for | ||
| years while the NAACP confronted government retaliation; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Texas branches of the NAACP have continued to build | ||
| on the accomplishments of the Civil Rights Era; initiatives include | ||
| litigating redistricting cases and targeting discriminatory | ||
| practices in employment, housing, and the criminal justice system; | ||
| since 1991, that work has been guided by Gary Bledsoe, president of | ||
| the Texas NAACP; and | ||
| WHEREAS, For nearly nine decades, the Texas State Conference | ||
| of NAACP Units has advanced the cause of social justice, and through | ||
| their dedication as champions of equal rights, members across the | ||
| state are furthering the vital goals of this trailblazing | ||
| organization; now, therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby recognize March 19, 2025, as Texas NAACP Day at | ||
| the State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to the members of the | ||
| Texas State Conference of NAACP Units. | ||
| Reynolds | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 368 was adopted by the House on April | ||
| 17, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 133, Nays 7, 2 present, not | ||
| voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
