Before Texas knew Garnet F. Coleman as a lawmaker, policy strategist and champion of Houston's Third Ward, I knew him simply as Garnet - one of my first real friends.

Our friendship began in sixth grade, when my family moved to Burkett Street in the Timbercrest area of Third Ward. Garnet lived two blocks over on Ewing Street. We rode bikes, spent long Houston summers swimming in our family pools and talked endlessly about music. Garnet's musical ear was already broader than mine. He introduced me to sounds and groups I had barely encountered - Steely Dan, The Doobie Brothers, The Cars and more - expanding my playlist long before anybody used the word "playlist."

We were also two of the neighborhood's most daring young men. Our signature stunt was climbing onto the roof and jumping into the swimming pool below. It was equal parts courage, ego and youthful foolishness - but when you are a kid and the neighborhood is watching, applause can make you feel ten feet tall. Looking back, those jumps taught us something about nerve, popularity and knowing when confidence becomes ego.

Music became another adventure. We formed a band called "Electric FUNK," and Garnet became our manager. His father, Dr. John B. Coleman, had opened JB's Entertainment, and Garnet helped book what remains one of the biggest moments of our young lives: opening for B.B. King. For a group of Third Ward kids with instruments, ambition and imagination, it felt like Madison Square Garden.

Garnet came from a family already woven into Houston history. Born in Washington, D.C., on September 8, 1961, and raised in Houston, he was the son of Dr. John B. Coleman and Gloria Jones Coleman. His father was a prominent physician and civic leader who became the first African American appointed to the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. Garnet graduated from Bellaire High School in 1979, attended Howard University and later earned his political science degree cum laude from the University of St. Thomas.

 Garnet Coleman Francis Page Jr.  Rnady Lorenza Butler Anthoney Haley in 1980's

I watched that brilliant young friend grow into a man whose name became inseparable from public policy in Texas. Elected to the Texas House in 1991, Garnet represented District 147 for more than 30 years, until 2022. His legislative record included work on Children's Medicaid and CHIP, mental-health parity, HIV/AIDS services and the Sandra Bland Act. He also advocated for Texas Southern University, Prairie View A&M University and the University of Houston.

But public accomplishments are only part of the man I remember.

I attended his California wedding to Angelique, and through the decades we maintained the kind of friendship that begins before titles, offices and headlines. On September 23, 2026, Garnet died at age 65. Texas lost a longtime legislator. Third Ward lost one of its most consequential sons.

I lost one of my first friends.

And when I remember Garnet, I will remember the brilliant mind - but I will also hear the music, see the bicycles, feel that Houston summer heat and picture two fearless boys standing on a roof, getting ready to jump.