| By U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-Texas)
Mr. Speaker, I rise to pay tribute to a Texas leader in civil rights, who after 91 years, passed on Friday. Mildred Coleman Holloway.
Throughout her career, Mildred was a trailblazer among African-American women who fought tirelessly for equal rights in an era when blacks were still required to pay a poll tax to vote.
Originally from Waco, Texas, Mildred attended Samuel Huston College, which later merged to become Huston-Tillotson College. For more than 40 years, Mildred was a Democratic Party icon in Texas.
Mr. Speaker, this great leader spent much of her time in Austin fighting for equal opportunity for all people.
She was instrumental in the founding of three politically powerful groups in Austin and the state of Texas, the Texas Coalition of Black Democrats, Black Austin Democrats, and the United Political Organization.
Mildred Coleman Holloway was a trailblazer and champion of minority rights in Texas. She was not just a leader in Texas politics but an inspiration to all of us in the Texas delegation. I am certainly proud to have known her and learned from her example.
I will miss her caring spirit. The people of Texas and her friends and colleagues in Austin and throughout Texas will miss her. Although she is no longer with us, Mildred Holloway will fondly be remembered for her courage, determination, humility, and devotion to public service.
U.S. Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson is the highest-ranking Texan on the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure. She represents the 30th Congressional District, which includes downtown Dallas, Northeast, East Oak Cliff & Pleasant Grove; all of Balch Springs, De Soto, Lancaster & Hutchins and parts of Cedar Hill, Duncanville, Glen Heights, Wilmer and Ovilla.
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