Bill Text: TX HR412 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: In memory of Bertha Sadler Means of Austin.
Sponsorship: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1)
Status: (Passed) 2021-03-30 - Reported enrolled [HR412 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-HR412-Enrolled.html
| H.R. No. 412 | ||
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| WHEREAS, A life dedicated to community leadership and social | ||
| justice drew to a close with the death of Bertha Sadler Means of | ||
| Austin on March 16, 2021, at the age of 100; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The former Bertha Elizabeth Sadler was born in May | ||
| 1920 in Valley Mills, a long-established Black community in | ||
| McLennan and Bosque counties founded by her grandfather, the | ||
| Reverend James Sadler; she was an intelligent and athletic young | ||
| woman, and she graduated from A. J. Moore High School in Waco; and | ||
| WHEREAS, After moving to Austin to attend what is now | ||
| Huston-Tillotson University, she met James H. Means, and they | ||
| married in December 1941, going on to share 66 years together until | ||
| his death in 2008; the same year they were wed, the couple helped | ||
| establish St. James' Episcopal Church in East Austin, and they | ||
| started a successful business, Harlem Cab, which later became the | ||
| Austin Cab Company; Mrs. Means was also one of the first Black | ||
| teachers to work in Austin's White-majority schools, and the Austin | ||
| school district later named Bertha Sadler Means Young Women's | ||
| Leadership Academy in her honor; and | ||
| WHEREAS, In 1962, Mrs. Means organized protests against | ||
| discrimination at the Ice Palace skating rink, and she became a | ||
| leading civil rights activist in the city, serving as a member of | ||
| the NAACP, the Austin Human Relations Commission, and the Urban | ||
| League, as well as the Austin Parks Commission, the Town Lake | ||
| Beautification Committee, and the city's bicentennial commission; | ||
| she was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and a founder of the Austin | ||
| chapter of Jack and Jill of America, and she helped bring the Ebony | ||
| Fashion Fair to the city; moreover, she proudly attended the 2008 | ||
| Democratic National Convention in support of Barack Obama; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Above all else, Mrs. Means took great pride in her | ||
| five children, James, Ronald, Joan, Janet, and Patricia, and she | ||
| was blessed with many grandchildren and great-grandchildren; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A woman who gave freely of her time, energy, and | ||
| talent to make Austin a better place for all, Bertha Means was a | ||
| true champion for justice, and she leaves behind a record of good | ||
| works that will long resonate in the community she loved; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 87th Texas | ||
| Legislature hereby pay tribute to the memory of Bertha Sadler Means | ||
| and extend heartfelt sympathy to her family and many friends; 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 Bertha | ||
| Sadler Means. | ||
| Cole | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Speaker of the House | ||
| I certify that H.R. No. 412 was unanimously adopted by a | ||
| rising vote of the House on March 25, 2021. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
