George Thomas Leland (1944 - 1989)

Born 27 Nov 1944 in Lubbock, Texas, United States

Died 7 Aug 1989 at age 44 in Ethiopia

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Preceded by
Barbara Jordan

US Representative from Texas
1979-1989

Succeeded by
Craig Washington

Biography

Mickey Leland is Notable.

George Thomas "Mickey" Leland (November 27, 1944 – August 7, 1989) was an anti-poverty activist who 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 and earned a bachelor degree's from Texas Southern University in Houston.

Leland took the congressional seat vacated by Barbara Jordan of Houston later that same year. Leland served actively for over ten years in the United States House of Representatives. Many members considered his style flamboyant with his dashiki, Afro haircut, and eccentric hats. Eventually Leland abandoned these more unconventional characteristics and made attempts to establish bipartisan relationships. However, his commitment to hunger and hopelessness did not waver.

During his dedicated years in Congress, Leland chaired the Congressional Black Caucus; he served as a member of the Energy and Commerce Committee; and in 1984 he helped in establishing the Select Committee on Hunger, which pushed Congress to approve $8 million annually for an incremental Vitamin A program in the Third World that is believed to have reduced child mortality. The committee has also fought for measures to improve hunger conditions for impoverished neighborhoods in the United States. However, Leland's trip to the Sudan in the spring of 1989 influenced him unlike any other previous experiences. That trip marked the beginning of tenacious efforts aimed primarily at aiding the Sudanese refugees in Ethiopia. On Leland's sixth visit to Africa on August 7, 1989, his plane crashed into a mountainside on the way to visit the Fugnido refugee camp.

In 1983 Mickey married Alison Clark Walton. Mickey fathered three children Jarrett, and twins, Austin and Cameron.

Sources

• NBC news
• NYTIMES marriage announcement: https://www.nytimes.com/1983/03/27/style/miss-walton-engaged-to-congressman.html
• Wikipedia: Mickey Leland
• Wikidata: Item Q561325, en:Wikipedia
• Find A Grave: Memorial #6811920