Mickey Leland

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

George Thomas "Mickey" Leland (November 27, 1944 – August 7, 1989), was an anti-poverty activist and later became a congressman from the Texas 18th District and chair of the Congressional Black Caucus. He was a Democrat.

Born in Lubbock, Texas, Leland attended Wheatley High School in Houston, Texas^[1] and obtained a bachelor's Texas Southern University in Houston.

In 1972, Texas for the first time allowed its State House of Representatives and Senate seats to be elected as single-member districts. Soon after the decision, five minority candidates (dubbed the "People's Five"), including eventual winners Leland, Craig Washington and Benny Reyes ran for district seats in the Texas House of Representatives, a first for a state that, although the legendary Barbara Jordan had been a state senator, had not seen any African-American state representatives since Reconstruction. Leland remained in the state legislature until he was elected to Congress in 1979. He remained in Congress until his death, being reelected to the United States House of Representatives every two years.

Leland regularly led soup kitchens and became concerned with the hungry and homeless. He also worked to prevent food aid from being a political tool.

While Leland was controversial in his lifetime for espousing extreme leftist political views, he was also an effective advocate on hunger and public health issues. Many of his colleagues considered him flamboyant for his style of dress and mannerisms, which included wearing a dashiki and eccentric hats.^[2]

In 1989 Leland died in a plane crash in Gambela, Ethiopia during a mission to Fugnido, Ethiopia. A total of fifteen people, including Leland, died in the crash. His friend and former fellow Texas legislator, Craig Washington, ran for and was elected to his unexpired Congressional term in December of 1989.

Less than one week after Leland's tragic plane crash death, another member of the U.S. House Of Representatives, Larkin Smith of Mississippi, died in another plane crash in his home state.

A Federal building in Downtown Houston (which currently serves as the Congressional headquarters for his most recent successor, Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee) was named in his honor, and the International Terminal (Terminal D) at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston is also named after him as well as a street in Addis Ababa. A large number of other government programs, fellowships, and academic organizations have also been named in his memory.

The USAID Leland Initiative to improve internet connectivity in Africa was named after Mickey Leland. Singer songwriter Pierce Pettis included a song about Mickey on his 1991 album Tinseltown.

[edit] External links

• Mickey Leland at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Mickey Leland from the Handbook of Texas Online
• Biography of Mickey Leland (usaid.gov)
• Biography of Mickey Leland (Texas Southern University)
• Biography of Mickey Leland (University of Houston)
• Mickey Leland National Urban Air Toxics Research Center
• Mickey Leland Energy Fellowships at the U.S. DOE

[edit] References

Preceded by Barbara Jordan

Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Texas's 18th congressional district 1979–1989

Succeeded by Craig Washington

v • d • e Chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus Diggs • Stokes • Rangel • Burke • Mitchell • Collins • Fauntroy • Dixon • Leland • Dymally • Dellums • Towns • Mfume • Payne • Waters • Clyburn • Johnson • Cummings • Watt • Kilpatrick