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About the 18th Congressional District of Texas The 18th Congressional District is located in the city of Houston, Texas. It has always played an integral part in the history of Texas. Houston, Texas an inland port city, was founded near the headwaters of the Buffalo Bayou on August 30, 1836, by New York land speculators, the brothers August C. and John K. Allen. John Allen persuaded the first Congress of the Republic of Texas, in session at Columbia, to move to his town, named after the first elected president of Texas, Sam Houston. On June 5, 1837, President Houston signed an act authorizing Houston to incorporate. The move of the government to Houston was later denounced, causing it to stay there for only two years. Mud-bogged and beset by yellow-fever epidemics, the town grew slowly as a cotton-shipping port. During the Civil War it became a haven for blockade-runners. Following the war the city developed as a rail center with 12 railways by 1891. The Galveston hurricane and flood in 1900 allowed the city to emerge as the state's leading port. The discovery of oil in southeast Texas at Spindletop in 1901 and the opening of the manmade Houston Ship Channel in 1914 stimulated rapid development of petroleum refining and metal fabricating in the Houston area. This ship channel connects Houston with the Gulf of Mexico, passing through the former Buffalo Bayou and Galveston Bay. The channel is 50.5 miles (81.3 Km) long and 36 feet (11m) deep, and has a minimum width of 300 feet (90m). The port made it possible for petrochemical manufacturing on a large scale to begin during World War II. Immense resources of oil, natural gas, sulfur, lime, salt and water has created one of the world's greatest concentrations of industries along the ship channel. Southeast near Clear Lake, is the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (1961), which is the command post for the flights by U.S. astronauts. The area around Houston is also important for rice, cotton, and cattle. Just as the economy changed so did the area's politics. The 1960's brought political and economic diversification to the forefront of Houston development. In 1965 the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling that said the method and the number of voting districts established in the State of Texas was unconstitutional. In demanding change, the court reinforced the constitutional principle of one person, one vote. Texas was forced to reshape its legislative districts, opening political opportunity to people of color for the first time in the State's history. In the intervening years, the change and new faces in elected state offices made Austin, the state capital a difference place. The 1970 census created the 18th Congressional District, Texas' first minority majority Congressional District seat, which was filled by former State Senator Barbara Jordan. Barbara Jordan accomplishments include being the first black to sit in the Texas senate since 1883. Also, In 1972, she became president pro tem of the Texas Senate, the first black woman to preside over a legislative body in the United States, and the first acting black governor of the State of Texas. That same year, State Senator Jordan became the first southern black woman elected to the United States Congress. She served until her retirement in 1978. Her decision not to seek reelection allowed Mickey Leland to move from the Texas legislature to the U.S. Congress. Leland's tenure in Congress was marked by his work to establish the Select Committee on Hunger in 1984 and served as its chairman though the remainder of his term. In the summer of 1989, Leland traveled to Ethiopia to visit a United Nations refugee camp. On August 7, a plane carrying Congressman Leland crashed in a mountainous region near Gambela, Ethiopia, killing all on board. After Congressman Leland's widow Alison declined to run for her husband's seat in the special election, Craig Washington emerged as victor. He served until 1994 when he was defeated in the March primary by Houston, Texas City Council member Sheila Jackson Lee. Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee was re-elected in 1996. Congresswoman Jackson Lee now serves on the Committee on the Judiciary, the Committee on Homeland Security, and the Committee on Science. In addition, She is currently ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee on Immigration and Claims. The economic reality for most in the district is a struggle. The North Forest School District is one of the most financially strapped in the state. There is virtually no commercial property to tax in the area, and many low-income black residents cannot afford to pay higher property taxes on their homes. Few live in downtown Houston, although its businesses provide jobs at all levels for the district's residents. The 18th has always been one of the most Democratic districts in the state and has remained one of the most notable districts within Houston. In closing, residents, businesses and community leaders who reside in the 18th congressional district will continue to uphold this rich tradition and make lasting contributions to the United States’ growth.
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