H.C.R. No. 16

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Each year, the date of July 18 is recognized as

Nelson Mandela International Day; in 2013, that date will also mark

Mr. Mandela's 95th birthday, making this a fitting occasion to

celebrate the life and legacy of a courageous and inspirational

figure who is revered around the world; and

WHEREAS, Born into the Tembu tribe in the Transkei region of

South Africa in 1918, Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela earned a degree

from University College of Fort Hare and studied law at the

University of Witwatersrand; and

WHEREAS, In 1944, Mr. Mandela joined the African National

Congress, and he soon became actively engaged in resistance against

the racist apartheid policies of South Africa's ruling National

Party; as part of that effort, he helped launch the "Defiance"

campaign of civil disobedience in 1952; the government responded by

trying him for treason in the late 1950s, though he was ultimately

acquitted of that charge; and

WHEREAS, After the Sharpeville Massacre of 69 anti-apartheid

protestors in 1960, the ANC was banned, and Mr. Mandela began

advocating for armed resistance to the government; arrested in

1962, he was sentenced to five years of hard labor, and in a

separate trial that began the following year, he was sentenced to

life in prison; and

WHEREAS, From 1964 to 1982, Mr. Mandela was jailed in a small

cell on Robben Island, off the coast of Cape Town, and he was later

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

1

H.C.R. No. 16

1 incarcerated at two prisons on the mainland; during his 25 years as

a prisoner, he endured harsh conditions while steadfastly refusing

to compromise his belief in justice and equal rights for all South

Africans; his valiant stand helped strengthen opposition to

apartheid, both within South Africa and around the world; and

WHEREAS, The anti-apartheid movement achieved one of its

greatest victories in 1990 when Mr. Mandela was released from

prison, and he soon became a key figure in the negotiations to

dismantle the country's unjust system of government; he received

the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993, and the following year he was elected

as South Africa's president in the nation's first multiracial

election; and

WHEREAS, In 2009, the General Assembly of the United Nations

voted unanimously to commemorate his birthday each year as Nelson

Mandela International Day, an observance that emphasizes the

ability of individuals to effect positive change in their

communities; and

WHEREAS, Over the course of his life, Nelson Mandela has

followed a difficult and often lonely path in the pursuit of

justice; starting as an idealistic student determined to make his

country a better place, he went on to become a resolute and

determined prisoner of conscience and, finally, an admired

international figure who symbolizes the victory of freedom over

oppression; now, therefore, be it

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

2

H.C.R. No. 16

1 RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas,

2nd Called Session, hereby designate July 18, 2013, as Nelson

Mandela International Day in Texas.

Giddings Turner of Harris Craddick Pitts Johnson Branch Huberty Kacal Kolkhorst Parker Stickland

2

3

3

Straus Allen Alonzo Alvarado Anchia Anderson Ashby Aycock Bell Bohac Bonnen of Brazoria Bonnen of Galveston Branch Burkett Burnam Button Callegari Canales Capriglione Carter Clardy Coleman Collier Cook Cortez Craddick Creighton Crownover Dale Darby Davis of Dallas J. Davis of Harris S. Davis of Harris Deshotel Dukes Dutton Eiland Elkins Fallon Farias Farney Farrar Fletcher Flynn Frank Frullo Geren Giddings Goldman Gonzales

M. Gonzalez of E 1 Paso N. Gonzalez of El Paso Gooden Guerra Guillen Gutierrez Harless Harper-Brown Hernandez Luna Herrero Hilderbran Howard Huberty Hughes Hunter Isaac Johnson Kacal Keffer King of Hemphill King of Parker King of Taylor King of Zavala Kleinschmidt Klick Kolkhorst Krause Kuernpel Larson Laubenberg Lavender Leach Lewis Longoria Lozano Lucio III Marquez Martinez Martinez Fischer McClendon Menendez Miles Miller of Carnal Miller of Fort Bend Moody Morrison Munoz, Jr. Murphy Naish tat Nevarez

4

Oliveira Orr Otto Paddie Parker Patrick Perez Perry Phillips Pickett Pitts Price Raney Ratliff Raymond Reynolds Riddle Ritter Rodriguez of Bexar Rodriguez of Travis Rose Sanford Schaefer Sheets Sheffield of Bell Sheffield of Coryell Simmons Simpson Smith Smithee Springer Stephenson Stickland Strarna Taylor Thompson of Brazoria Thompson of Harris Toth Turner of Collin Turner of Harris Turner of Tarrant Villalba Villarreal Vo Walle White Workman Wu Zedler Zerwas

H.C.R. No. 16

President of the Senate

I certify that H.C.R. No. 16 was adopted by the House on July

15, 2013, by a non-record vote.

I certify that H.C.R. No. 16 was adopted by the Senate on July

17, 2013, by a viva-voce vote.

APPROVED: tq /hJ6 't!J

'Kts;t·~J Governor

FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE

O'CLOCK -----

H.C.R. No. 16

5