Albert Ely Edwards (March 19, 1937 – April 29, 2020) was an American politician who served in the

Texas Legislature The Texas Legislature is the state legislature of the US state of Texas. It is a bicameral body composed of a 31-member Senate and a 150-member House of Representatives. The state legislature meets at the Capitol in Austin. It is a powerful ...

representing District 146. He is best known as the principal proponent of the

Juneteenth Juneteenth is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans. Deriving its name from combining "June" and "nineteenth", it is celebrated on the anniversary of General Order No. 3, i ...

Texas state holiday, approved in 2007, which in 2021 became a federal holiday. Edwards served on three of the most influential Committees. Edwards was the Chairman of the Rules and Resolutions Committee, Chairman of Budget and Oversight of the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Biography

Life

Edwards was a native Houstonian. He was the sixth child out of the sixteen children born into the union of Reverend E. L. Edwards Sr. and Josephine Radford Edwards. Edwards graduated from Wheatley High School in Houston. Edwards is a member of

Alpha Phi Alpha Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. () is the oldest intercollegiate historically African American fraternity. It was initially a literary and social studies club organized in the 1905–1906 school year at Cornell University but later evolved int ...

fraternity. He received a bachelor's degree from Texas Southern University, Houston, Texas in 1966, a Certificate in Corrective Therapy at

Tuskegee Institute Tuskegee University (Tuskegee or TU), formerly known as the Tuskegee Institute, is a private, historically black land-grant university in Tuskegee, Alabama. It was founded on Independence Day in 1881 by the state legislature. The campus was de ...

in Alabama. He became a realtor and mortgage broker.

Career

He was involved in the Civil Rights Movement, where he participated in peaceful marches and demonstrations throughout the United States of America with Dr.

Martin Luther King Jr. Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister and activist, one of the most prominent leaders in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968 ...

, Reverend

Jesse Jackson Jesse Louis Jackson (né Burns; born October 8, 1941) is an American political activist, Baptist minister, and politician. He was a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as a shadow U.S. senator ...

, Mr. Carl Stocks, Reverend William (Bill) Lawson, and others. Edwards was a thirteen-term elected member of the Texas House of Representative, serving in that capacity from 1978 to 2007. In 1979, he authored and sponsored House Bill 1016, making June 19 ("

") a state paid holiday in Texas. He founded Juneteenth, U.S.A., in 1979 along with Al Edwards Real Estate and Mortgage Company. The Juneteenth legislation finally passed in 2007.

1980s

He served as a member of the board of Push International Trade Bureau of Chicago, Illinois from 1983 to 1989. Al Edwards served as the State Chairman for Reverend Jesse Jackson's campaign for President of the United States in both 1984 and 1988. In 1986, he founded "Operation Justus ", a community-based organization that serves as a referral service for persons with social problems and concerns. In 1987, he was arrested in Houston and went to jail for peacefully demonstrating against apartheid in South Africa. Others demonstrating on the national level included Reverend Jesse Jackson, Dick Gregory, Aretha Franklin, Harry Belafonte along with many others. In 1989, he traveled to Mozambique, Johannesburg, and Angola, South Africa on a peace-seeking mission.

1990s

Representative Edwards served as Chairman of the Texas Legislative Black Caucus from 1991 to 1997. Al Edwards was called to ministry in April 1993. Revered Al Edwards is a member of Progressive New Hope Church. During the

Clinton administration Bill Clinton's tenure as the 42nd president of the United States began with his first inauguration on January 20, 1993, and ended on January 20, 2001. Clinton, a Democrat from Arkansas, took office following a decisive election victory over Re ...

, Al Edwards was often invited to the White House as the guest of

Bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...

and

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. In May 1994, he was inducted into the Hall of Fame of the African American Biographic Association in Atlanta, Georgia. Al Edwards was elected Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Black Caucus and held that position for six years. He was Vice-Chairman for ten years. Edwards received his Doctorate of Divinity from World Bible Christian University in San Antonio. In 1999, Edwards was appointed Chairman of Texas Emancipation Juneteenth Cultural and Historical Commission by Governor

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

2004

On January 15, 2004, Al Edwards helped to lead a successful march of over 5000 people in Waller County in order for the students of Prairie View A & M University to be able to vote. As a senior member of the State Legislature, Al Edwards served on three of the most influential Committees. He was the Chairman of the Rules and Resolutions Committee, Chairman of Budget and Oversight of the Ways and Means Committee and a member of the Appropriations Committee.

Awards

He was inducted into "Who's Who in America " in 1989 and "Who's Who of Global Decision Makers" in 2006. In 1983, he received an honorary doctoral degree from the University of Belize. Edwards is memorialized with a statute near

Ashton Villa Ashton Villa is a fully restored, historic home located on the corner of 24th and Broadway in Galveston, Texas, United States. Constructed in 1859, it was one of the first brick structures in Texas built by slaves. History On January 7, 1859, ...

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Galvesto ...

, depicting him holding up a copy of the Juneteenth legislation.

Death

Edwards died from natural causes on April 29, 2020 at age 83.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Al 1937 births 2020 deaths Businesspeople from Houston Tuskegee University alumni Texas Southern University alumni 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians African-American state legislators in Texas Democratic Party members of the Texas House of Representatives Politicians from Houston 20th-century African-American politicians African-American men in politics 21st-century African-American politicians