Congresswoman Johnson remembered her former colleague, and fellow Texas Democrat, Congressman Jack Brooks in an interview with the Houston Chronicle.
Congresswoman Johnson said, “He was a true grit Texan, meaning that what he believed in, he didn’t shy away from. He’d stand up boldly for it. That showed when I saw him helping put together civil rights legislation and trying to make sure workers’ rights were protected.
“He was one of the people who stood out and stood up. As an example, he was part of the Texas delegation working up front to draft the Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act. There were a lot of Southerners, even Democrats, who had reservations taking leadership in those pieces of legislation, but he did it.
“We all could take lessons from observing the way he held himself. He was very true to his beliefs. He was trustworthy. He believed in what he was standing for and he didn’t shrink away from it.
“One of the reasons why he was defeated (for re-election in 1994) was because he stood strong with the (Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act) crime bill — which had some gun control — and President Clinton. He was from part of the state that believed in gun rights. He said he stood with the president.”
