By Andrew Hay
(Reuters) -Vice President Kamala Harris on Thursday lauded U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee as a “fierce champion of justice” at the funeral of the prominent voice on African American and women’s rights within the Democratic Party.
Jackson Lee announced in June she had pancreatic cancer and was undergoing treatment. The Texas lawmaker died on July 19, aged 74.
Harris was the highest ranking U.S. official at Jackson Lee’s Houston service, acting as consoler in chief for the 15-term representative who promoted legislation addressing social justice, economic inequality and public health.
“To know her was to marvel at her mastery of the legislative process,” said Harris, who is poised to become the Democratic presidential nominee after President Joe Biden quit the race last month.
Harris recalled her work with the congresswoman on a bill to recognize “Juneteenth” as a federal holiday commemorating the end of the legal enslavement of Black Americans.
She recognized they were both members of Alpha Kappa Alpha, a historically African American sorority for female students at U.S. universities and colleges.
The vice president’s rival, Republican Donald Trump, on Wednesday falsely suggested to the country’s largest annual gathering of Black journalists that Harris had previously downplayed her Black heritage. Harris, who is of Indian and Jamaican heritage, has long identified as both Black and Asian.
The service at Fallbrook Church included a gospel choir, singers and tributes from fellow Democrats ranging from U.S. Representative Pramila Jayapal to former U.S. President Bill Clinton, who lauded Jackson Lee’s commitment to democracy.
She “really believed that we were all created equal,” said the 42nd president.
Jackson Lee, a graduate of Yale College and the University of Virginia Law School, was a vocal proponent of police reform in the face of congressional roadblocks after the 2020 police killing of George Floyd, a Black man whose death sparked nationwide protests.
Civil rights attorney Ben Crump said she was among the first to support the families of Black people killed by police, ranging from Breonna Taylor to Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown.
He was among speakers who said she prepared the ground for Harris to become the first Black woman to be a major party’s presidential candidate.
The Reverend Al Sharpton called on the audience to follow in Jackson Lee’s footsteps fighting for criminal and racial justice.
“We will fight every bigot and racist whether they’re Black of white or orange,” said Sharpton.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay; Editing by Deepa Babington and Daniel Wallis)
