Sheila Jackson Lee, Veteran Texas Congresswoman, Dies at 74

  • She was a key advocate of effort to make Juneteenth a holiday
  • First elected in 1994, she bested primary challenger in March

Representative Sheila Jackson Lee 

Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg
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Representative Sheila Jackson Lee of Texas, who introduced legislation to make Juneteenth a national holiday, has died. She was 74.

Her death was announced by her family on Friday night. The statement, which was released by her office, did not include a cause of death, but Jackson Lee said in June that she was being treated for pancreatic cancer.