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  H.R. No. 647
 
 
 
R E S O L U T I O N
         WHEREAS, In 2015, people across the nation are pausing to
  reflect on the 50th anniversary of the historic civil rights march
  from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama, as well as the momentous changes
  set in motion by that protest; and
         WHEREAS, The march grew out of efforts to fight unjust voting
  practices in the Jim Crow South, where African Americans were
  routinely denied their right to cast a ballot; in Dallas County,
  Alabama, members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee
  and the Dallas County Voters League banded together to organize a
  series of voter registration drives in the early 1960s; the state's
  systemic discrimination proved intractable, however, even after
  ratification of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; and
         WHEREAS, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and other members of the
  Southern Christian Leadership Conference arrived in Selma in early
  1965 to help draw attention to the situation; racial tensions
  flared on the fateful night of February 18, when segregationists
  attacked peaceful demonstrators in the town of Marion, and a white
  state trooper fatally shot Jimmie Lee Jackson, one of the African
  American protestors; and
         WHEREAS, Galvanized by that tragic killing, some 600
  activists congregated at the foot of the Edmund Pettus Bridge in
  Selma on March 7, 1965, to participate in a 54-mile protest march to
  Montgomery, the state capital; blocking their path was a regiment
  of state troopers and deputies, and when the demonstrators
  attempted to cross the bridge, they were lashed with whips,
  bludgeoned with billy clubs, and pelted with tear gas; the horrific
  scene, dubbed "Bloody Sunday," unfolded on televisions across the
  country, sparking nationwide outrage and motivating thousands of
  people to descend on the town in solidarity with the marchers; and
         WHEREAS, In defiance of a restraining order from a federal
  court, Dr. King issued a clarion call for another march, which was
  scheduled for two days later; it was met once again with armed
  resistance, but in this instance, the marchers turned around at the
  bridge, avoiding more violence; finally, on March 21, approximately
  2,000 people from all walks of life gathered to complete the
  long-awaited journey to Montgomery; backed by a ruling from a
  federal court and protected by army and national guard troops, they
  arrived in the capital four days later and were met by a crowd of
  nearly 50,000 supporters; and
         WHEREAS, Those volatile weeks brought to the fore the need
  for federal legislative action, and while the events in Selma were
  unfolding, President Lyndon B. Johnson addressed a joint session of
  Congress, calling for the passage of a voting rights bill; on August
  6, he signed into law the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which
  prohibited racial discrimination in voting practices by federal,
  state, and local governments; the effects of the law were
  immediate, producing a meteoric rise in the number of registered
  African American voters and fundamentally changing their role in
  the political process; and
         WHEREAS, The Selma to Montgomery March was a watershed moment
  in the civil rights movement, powerfully symbolizing how peace and
  unity can overcome the forces of violence and intolerance; in
  precipitating the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, the
  demonstration helped give voice to millions of people long silenced
  by an oppressive and unjust system, and it ensured that those rights
  would be guaranteed to future generations; now, therefore, be it
         RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas
  Legislature hereby commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Selma to
  Montgomery March and the signing of the Voting Rights Act of 1965.
 
  Reynolds
 
 
 
Straus González Otto
 
Allen Guerra Paddie
 
Alonzo Guillen Parker
 
Alvarado Gutierrez Paul
 
Anchia Harless Peña
 
Anderson of Dallas Hernandez Phelan
 
Anderson of McLennan Herrero Phillips
 
Ashby Howard Pickett
 
Aycock Huberty Price
 
Bell Hughes Raney
 
Bernal Hunter Raymond
 
Blanco Isaac Reynolds
 
Bohac Israel Riddle
 
Bonnen of Brazoria Johnson Rinaldi
 
Bonnen of Galveston Kacal Rodriguez of Bexar
 
Burkett Keffer Rodriguez of Travis
 
Burns Keough Romero, Jr.
 
Burrows King of Hemphill Rose
 
Button King of Parker Sanford
 
Canales King of Taylor Schaefer
 
Capriglione King of Uvalde Schofield
 
Clardy Klick Schubert
 
Coleman Koop Shaheen
 
Collier Krause Sheets
 
Cook Kuempel Sheffield
 
Craddick Landgraf Simmons
 
Crownover Larson Simpson
 
Cyrier Laubenberg Smith
 
Dale Leach Smithee
 
Darby Longoria Spitzer
 
Davis of Dallas Lozano Springer
 
Davis of Harris Lucio III Stephenson
 
Deshotel Márquez Stickland
 
Dukes Martinez Thompson of Brazoria
 
Dutton Martinez Fischer Thompson of Harris
 
Elkins McClendon Tinderholt
 
Faircloth Menéndez Turner of Collin
 
Fallon Metcalf Turner of Harris
 
Farias Meyer Turner of Tarrant
 
Farney Miles VanDeaver
 
Farrar Miller of Comal Villalba
 
Fletcher Miller of Fort Bend Vo
 
Flynn Moody Walle
 
Frank Morrison White of Bell
 
Frullo Muñoz, Jr. White of Tyler
 
Galindo Murphy Workman
 
Geren Murr Wray
 
Giddings Naishtat Wu
 
Goldman Nevárez Zedler
 
Gonzales Oliveira Zerwas
 
  ______________________________
  Speaker of the House     
 
         I certify that H.R. No. 647 was adopted by the House on March 4,
  2015, by a non-record vote.
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House