[Congressional Record Volume 152, Number 34 (Thursday, March 16, 2006)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E398]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     TRIBUTE TO TERRELLITA MAVERICK

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. CHARLES A. GONZALEZ

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 16, 2006

  Mr. GONZALEZ. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the 80th birthday of 
Terrellita Maverick, a member of one of San Antonio's and Texas' most 
distinguished families. The Maverick family has long been committed to 
independence of mind, fairness, and equality for all. Some claim the 
Mavericks can trace their roots to Boston at the eve of the American 
Revolution. While that may be hard to prove, we do know they have 
shaped San Antonio and Texas in ways that few families have.
  Terrellita's ancestor, Samuel Augustus Maverick, was an original 
signer of the Texas Declaration of Independence. An important figure in 
the founding of the Texas Republic, he later served in the Congress of 
the Texas Republic, as mayor of San Antonio, and in the State 
legislature.
  His family's name entered the lexicon because he refused to brand his 
cattle unlike all other cattlemen in Texas. Maverick originally meant 
an unbranded male calf, yet the word soon expanded to reflect the 
family's independent ways. Yet, being a Maverick did not mean 
individualism for individualism's sake. Rather, their individualism was 
founded on never turning one's back on doing what was right.
  Terrellita's father, Maury Maverick, Sr., represented San Antonio in 
the House from 1934-1938. In typical Maverick fashion, he defied the 
city's political machine and won his seat on the strength of San 
Antonio's Latino vote. A fiery New Deal advocate and close ally of 
President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Rep. Maverick spoke his mind and 
fought for civil rights at a time when doing so put one's political 
career and life at risk. Still, Rep. Maverick fought for his 
constituents and for the causes he believed were right.
  Like his illustrious forebearer, he became Mayor of San Antonio and 
thanks to his vision for the city, La Villita was restored. La Villita 
was San Antonio's first neighborhood and this project spurred other 
restoration and construction projects in downtown San Antonio. Mayor 
Maverick was probably the single person most responsible for the 
appearance of downtown San Antonio today.
  Moreover, his service to Texas and our nation were not limited to 
elected positions. During World War I, he was an infantry lieutenant 
and won the Silver Star and a Purple Heart. After his service as mayor, 
he served in a number of capacities to ensure that our production was 
efficient during WWII.
  Terrellita's brother, Maury Maverick, Jr., was another in this family 
of individualists. Maury served his nation during World War II as a 
marine. During the 1950s, Maury represented San Antonio in the Texas 
House of Representatives along side my father and fought McCarthyism 
and racism. He and other members killed a bill that would have given 
communists the death penalty. In 1960, he was one of the 71 candidates 
to run for Vice-President's Johnson's Senate seat.
  He then began to practice law but concentrated on pro bono legal work 
for powerless or unpopular people. He successfully argued against a law 
barring `mixed-race' boxing matches and won a case before the Supreme 
Court for a San Antonio bookseller accused of possessing allegedly 
`seditious' papers. He passed away in 2003 and our city misses his 
voice and his conscience.
  However, I am pleased that Terrellita still makes San Antonio her 
home and is dedicated to improving our city. When not busy as a mother 
or grandmother, she is an active member of the Democratic Party and 
ACLU. She is every bit a Maverick and our community is the better for 
it. So, I would like to send my birthday wishes to one of San Antonio's 
distinguished citizens.
  This has long been a family committed to fighting the fights that may 
not have been fashionable but that history declared right and just.

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