U.S. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee passes away after battle with cancer

U.S. Representative Sheila Jackson Lee passed away Friday evening after battling pancreatic cancer. She was 74. Jackson Lee represented Texas’s 18th Congressional District, which includes portions of Houston.

Sheila Jackson Lee entered politics after being named to a municipal judge seat in Houston and in 1989, she was elected to the Houston City Council.

Jackson Lee was elected to Congress in 1994 after defeating Craig Washington. During her time in the U.S. House of Representatives, Jackson Lee focused on issues of race, social inequality, LGBTQ+ rights and immigration.

Jackson Lee fiercely fought for her constituents

Notably on January 3, 2019 , Jackson Lee introduced U.S. House Bill 40. The bill was reparations legislation that focuses on truth, racial healing, and transformation.

“I want to give them the honor that they deserve. And that is to recognize the insurmountable odds that some of them had and how they continue to plant seeds of respect and dignity in their children,” said Jackson Lee in an interview with the National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA). “Has anyone addressed the question of slavery and its comprehensive impact on Black Americans in this country? This is what H.R. 40 will do.”

Jackson Lee was also on the front lines after every major disaster. She distributed food after Hurricane Ike flooded Houston in 2008 and after Hurricane Harvey dumped fifty inches of rain in 2017. During the COVID-19 outbreak in 2020, Jackson Lee fought for enhanced funding for small, urban and rural hospitals that were fighting to care for afflicted patients.

The cancer diagnosis

In 2023, Jackson Lee was unsuccessful in her effort to become the Mayor of Houston. However in March 2024, she defeated Amanda Edwards in a Democratic primary. Three months later, Jackson Lee announced her diagnosis.

“My doctors have confirmed my diagnosis of pancreatic cancer,” she wrote in a statement . “I am currently undergoing treatment to battle this disease that impacts tens of thousands of Americans every year.”

“I am confident that my doctors have developed the best possible plan to target my specific disease,” she continued. “The road ahead will not be easy, but I stand in faith that God will strengthen me.”

Jackson Lee was one of the standout members of the Congressional Black Caucus. Caucus chair, U.S. Representative Steven Horsford, D-Nevada, issued the following statement. It reads in part:

“Representative Jackson Lee was a titan and stalwart member of Congress who served the Houston area and our country honorably for nearly 30 years in the U.S. Congress. From the Houston City Council to the U.S. Congress, Congresswoman Jackson Lee was a fierce advocate for social and economic justice, national and homeland security, energy independence, and children and working families.

“A former CBC Whip and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation, Congresswoman Jackson Lee was a devoted and active member of our Caucus who championed many causes including racial equity and improving policing and community safety in America – most recently reintroducing the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act in May 2024.”

Jackson Lee is survived by her husband, Elwyn Lee, and her two children, Jason Lee, a graduate of Harvard University, and Erica Lee, a graduate of Duke University, who is also a Member of the Harris County School Board in Houston. She is also survived by her two grandchildren, Ellison Bennett Carter, and Roy Lee Carter.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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