Houston lawmaker Johnson: Confederate Heroes Day 'is a remembrance of a horrible past'

Thursday marks Confederate Heroes Day in the State of Texas, but a Houston-area member of the Texas House of Representatives seeks to do away with the holiday. 

Houston-based media outlets reported that State Rep. Jarvis Johnson (D-Houston) has filed a bill to abolish the occasion that is sometimes celebrated on the same day as Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. 

The country observed the MLK holiday on Monday as the late Civil Rights leader’s actual birthday was on Sunday.

Per Houston FOX affiliate KRIV, Johnson, a black man, said the purpose of the legislation, known as House Bill (HB) 51, is to have Texans embrace what he calls “an ugly past” of the Lone Star State. 

“There have been things in this state, in this country that have harmed and hurt a lot of people, but at no point should we be sympathizers with them,” he said, the station reported. “To say that they did something noble and honorable when they actually were very vile to people of color.” 

KRIV reported that Texas is one of 10 states to have a holiday that memorializes those who fought for the Confederacy during the Civil War, with Texas’ day having been observed for 50 years.

Houston ABC affiliate KTRK reported that this is the third time Johnson has attempted to get a measure removing Confederate Heroes Day from the state’s calendar. 

"When we talk about what Confederate Heroes Day is, it is a remembrance of a horrible past,” the legislator said, according to KTRK. "A past that has done irreparable damage to many of the residents of the state of Texas." 

Jan. 19, the date on which Texas observes the holiday, is also Confederate general Robert E. Lee’s birthday.

Whether Johnson’s current attempt succeeds remains to be seen although it’s unlikely with the lower chamber of the Texas Legislature still in Republican control. 

According to The Texas Tribune, the bill has received strong opposition from descendants of Confederate veterans who assert the holiday is a part of their heritage. 

Johnson, who has served the state House district that was once represented by Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner since 2016, said he, too, is a descendant of a man who served in the Confederate Army, the publication reported.