[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 18 (Friday, January 28, 2022)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E71]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                IN MEMORY OF ZENOBIA VIOLA HARRIS BIVENS

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. SHEILA JACKSON LEE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 28, 2022

  Ms. JACKSON LEE. Madam Speaker, today I rise with a heavy heart, to 
remember the life of a special young woman, and to celebrate a life 
interrupted too soon.
  Zenobia Viola Harris Bivens, 40, of Houston, Texas, passed away on 
January 8, 2022 after a sudden and unexpected case of meningitis.
  Zenobia was a mother, wife, sister, daughter, aunt, cousin, and 
friend. She was born on September 15, 1981, in Goldsboro, North 
Carolina at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base to Johnny Harris Jr. and 
Major Regina V. Harris. She is preceded in death by her father, Johnny 
Harris Jr. and is survived by her husband, Darvell Bivens; son, Dean 
Roque Harris Bivens; mother, Regina V. Harris; sister, LaGina R. 
Harris; and brother, Johnny B. Harris III and his wife, Jessica M. 
Saulter Harris.
  Zenobia's greatest impact was sharing her heart and time with those 
that knew and loved her, especially Darvell, her college sweetheart and 
best friend for over 20 years. Together they gathered a `Village' of 
educators, friends and family to create a loving, fun, and nurturing 
environment for their son Dean. Zenobia based her actions on her family 
values of `God, Family, and Education'.
  Zenobia graduated from San Angelo Central High School in 1999 and 
went on to attend college at West Texas A&M where she won a National 
Title in Speech and Debate was named University Woman of the Year, was 
featured in Glamour Magazine, and met the love of her life--Darvell 
Bivens. She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in 
Mass Communication--Broadcasting.
  She received the Future Faculty Fellowship (full scholarship to 
receive master's degree and doctorate) to attend the University of 
Alabama. While at the University, Zenobia was the co-founder of the 
Coalition for Change (organization dedicated to identifying and 
preserving historic Civil Rights sites including discovering unmarked 
graves of the enslaved on the campus grounds).
  She graduated summa cum laude with a Master of Arts in Communication 
Studies from the University of Alabama. Zenobia then attended 
Northwestern University--Pritzker Law School where she was a legal 
extern to former Senator Barack Obama and graduated cum laude with a 
Doctor of Jurisprudence.
  In her profession, Zenobia's achievements are numerous and 
impressive. Zenobia served as clerk for the Honorable Carl E. Stewart 
of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit and the Honorable 
Justice Dale Wainwright (ret.) of the Texas Supreme Court. She was a 
renowned trial and appellate lawyer.
  She served as counsel in cases involving NASA, the Department of 
Defense, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development among 
many. Her cases were featured in Forbes, The New York Times, and The 
Houston Chronicle.
  Zenobia successfully argued a case before the United States Supreme 
Court. At the time of her death, Zenobia was a Managing Partner for the 
Frost, Brown & Todd Law Firm.
  She was relentless in her pursuit for justice, and this was evident 
in her pro bono advocacy work as she was particularly passionate about 
helping those who had been denied justice by the legal system that she 
so cherished.
  Zenobia was truly a force of nature. She commanded attention and 
respect in any space she entered, be it a family room, courtroom, a 
garden, or even a podium for one of her epic speeches.
  Anyone meeting Zenobia for the first time might have been intimidated 
by the sheer power of her presence. Those who knew Zenobia realized 
that one of her most significant impacts was in the one-on-one 
discussions, when her questions or advice could provide new confidence 
or reveal a new strength in those she loved.
  Zenobia did not get the quantity of time on Earth she deserved or 
that we wanted; what she lacked in quantity, she more than made up for 
with quality. Zenobia once mentioned that the greatest people in 
history made their biggest impacts early in their lives.
  She was taken physically from this world much too soon, but Zenobia 
leaves it, and us, better.
  As Zenobia walked ahead of us, she set the bar high and built upon 
the foundation her predecessors laid. She walked beside us, as a 
companion on our own journeys of growth. She supported and sustained us 
when we fell. As a result of having known her, we are invigorated and 
stronger.
  Zenobia did her work to change the world now, we must honor her by 
continuing ours.

                          ____________________