Rest in Peace Lady Bird Johnson
Put forth on July 11, 2007 by XicanoPwr
Posted in Texas
Lady Bird Johnson, the widow of President Lyndon B. Johnson, died this afternoon at her home in Austin, Tex. She was 94. According to the New York Times, Mrs. Johnson died of natural causes, surrounded by family and friends. In 2002, she was hospitalized with a stroke that left her with difficulty speaking. But even after that she continued to make public appearances and in May attended an event at the LBJ Library and Museum featuring historian Robert Dallek.
Mrs. Johnson was known for her love of the environment, as first lady, she started a capital beautification project (Society for a More Beautiful National Capital) to improve the physical conditions in Washington, DC. She was also instrumental in promoting the Highway Beautification Act, which sought to beautify the nation’s highway system by limiting billboards and by planting flowers and trees along the highway.
I remember seeing Mrs. Johnson speak when I attended the University of Texas at Austin. It was at the Liz Carpenter Lectureship which in which Liz Carpenter - who Mrs. Johnson’s press secretary during her years in the White House - invited former First Lady Hillary Clinton to speak. This was back in 1993. I was so excited to see Anne Richards, Lady Bird, Liz Carpenter and Hillary, I don’t even think I even listened, I was just in awe just to see these fabulous and powerful women in one setting. Only a select few from the general student body were allowed to go and because I was part of the University Democrats and a Clinton neophyte, was one of the lucky ones. It sort of makes me sad really, having the opportunity to listen to her speak, in fact, all of the speak and not even remember what they spoke about. Sure I can find transcripts like I did for Hillary, but it is not the same.
May the angels accompany you into heaven, Mrs. Lady Bird Johnson. Rest in peace.
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This is the blog of Edmundo "XicanoPwr" Rocha, a social worker, an activist, freelance writer and founder and editor of The Sanctuary. My interests include: immigration reform, critical race theory and it's interaction with equality/inequality and freedom/oppression as they relate to the experiences of people of color in the Americas.
Para Justicia y Libertad is a Latino-centered political blog focusing on the humanistic perspective of politics, history, and society as they relate to the Latina/o community throughout Texas and the United States.
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