WASHINGTON: Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Democrat and outspoken advocate for racial justice and minorities’ rights, has died, her family said on Friday. She was 74. Lee, a black representative from Texas who served in Congress for nearly three decades, revealed last month that she had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

“Today, with incredible grief for our loss yet deep gratitude for the life she shared with us, we announce the passing of Representative Sheila Jackson Lee,” her family said in a statement posted on social platform X. The family described her as “a fierce champion of the people” and a “humanitarian”.

Calling Jackson Lee a “a towering figure in our politics,” US President Joe Biden wrote in a statement Saturday that “she spoke truth to power and represented the power of the people of her district in Houston with dignity and grace”. The Congressional Black Caucus paid tribute to the “titan and stalwart member of Congress” and “a fierce advocate for social and economic justice, national and homeland security, energy independence, and children and working families.”

During her tenure she served, among other things, on the Judiciary Subcommittee for Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security and on the Homeland Security, Judiciary and Budget committees. She also led some key legislative initiatives, including authoring the Violence Against Women’s Act and the Juneteenth National Independence Day Act.

Former president Bill Clinton in a statement called her “a fearless fighter for the people” and “one of our country’s most effective leaders”. Last year Jackson Lee showed up at a protest in Houston against anti-Asian hate, bringing several Asian children on stage to declare “Stop the Asian hate, stand for the American flag.”

There were also tributes for Jackson Lee from some politicians at the other end of the political spectrum. “While we rarely agreed on policy, I always enjoyed our spirited debates about law and policy, and I counted her as a friend,” US House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, a Republican who served with her on the judiciary committee for seven years, said in a statement. — Agencies

Governor Greg Abbott, a conservative Republican, posted on X that his wife “Cecilia and I will forever remember Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee,” adding that “her legacy of public service and dedication to Texas will live on.” US Senator Ted Cruz posted: “I’m deeply saddened by the passing of my friend & colleague Sheila Jackson Lee. She was a tireless advocate for Houston.” – Agencies