Washington, DC – Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a senior member of the House Committees on Judiciary and Homeland Security and Ranking Member of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, Homeland Security and Investigations, released the following statement about the passing of Simeon Booker, who brilliantly chronicled the struggle for civil rights in America:

“If a picture paints a thousand words, the life of Simeon Booker spans volumes. The former Washington Bureau Chief of Jet and Ebony Magazines died last month at the age of 99, but not without leaving us with some of the most powerful and gripping images chronicling the struggle for civil rights.

“His stunning photography that spanned five decades included the disfigured and agonizing images of Emmett Till, along with the brutality of countless other lynchings in the Jim Crow south. Few placed themselves in more peril while documenting the most horrendous manifestations of racism and intolerance.

“Booker, who was the first full-time African American reporter the Washington Post, served two years in that capacity before joining Johnson Publishing Company to write for Jet and Ebony magazines. His dispatches from the front lines during the struggle for civil rights along with his work exposing the dreadful reality of extreme poverty earned him numerous commendations, including a Newspaper Guild Award for series of reports covering slum housing.

“He once said ‘he wanted to fight segregation on the front lines.’ Through his work, Simeon Booker moved hearts and inspired a nation to change, forming an indelible imprint on the fabric of America.”