February 1, 2018

Sid Miller
Commissioner of Agriculture
Texas Agriculture Commission
1700 N. Congress
Austin, TX 78711

Dear Commissioner Miller,

You worked for your constituents and with many of us as a member of the Texas House of
Representatives, but from your current position as Commissioner of Agriculture, your actions in
recent years are not representative of the majority of the 27,000,000 people who make Texas
their home. It has been said that a one-time incident can be called an accident. Two or more
occurrences represent a trend. However, your repeated inexplicable behaviors must at some point
make a true statement regarding your character and who you are.

Your most recent comment on the current partisan political morass involving the possible release
of a controversial memo, once again indicates poor judgment and a temperament not befitting of
a public servant. It is our hope that few find your remarks humorous and that most will find them
repulsive. We will stay above an obvious label that can easily be applied.

There is nothing funny about the millions of African ancestry trapped in a system of involuntary
servitude that remains a stain on America and is often called its 'original sin!' And although it is
celebrated, news of the Emancipation that took three years to reach Texas is neither a laughing
matter and is itself dubious.

This is again the most recent of your contributions to divisiveness that treks to the admitted
fabrication last year of a story regarding the President's removal of a federal judge for imposing
Sharia Law, the vulgar description of a candidate for the U.S. Presidency in 2016, your repeated
disparaging remarks regarding Muslims and your call for bombing Muslim countries. This is not
indicative of a 21st Century Texas nor an America, that was by all accounts intended to be a
Letter to Commissioner Miller
February 1, 2018
Page 2

cultural melting pot where on a statue called "Liberty," there is an inscription which reads "Give
me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to be free." Perhaps your version of
being a true American does not subscribe to Declaration of Independence either.

As Christians, as Texans, as members of the Texas Black Legislative Caucus and Members of
the Texas Legislature, we will call on fellow members of the Texas Legislature and the
leadership of this great state to take a public stand against acts of racial intolerance and
insensitivity. Texas, America and humanity will be the better for it!

Our Best for Texas!

Royce West Helen Giddings Nicole Collier

Texas Senate Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives
District 23 District 109 District 95

Eric Johnson Toni Rose

Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives
District 100 District 110

Jarvis Johnson Ron Reynolds

Texas House of Representatives Texas House of Representatives
District 139 District 27