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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Grace Sims Holt was born in Union, South Carolina,
3in 1922; she graduated from Spelman College in 1942 and earned
4her teaching certificate from the University of Chicago; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Grace Sims Holt began her teaching career in the
6Chicago Public Schools, where she served from 1949 to 1969;
7while teaching elementary school, she also earned her master's
8degree in speech and communication from Northeastern Illinois
9University; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Grace Sims Holt served as a professor at the
11University of Illinois at Chicago for 22 years; she began her
12stint at UIC in September of 1969 as an associate professor of
13speech and theatre; in 1971, she was appointed to establish
14UIC's Black Studies Program; in 1974, she was appointed to
15serve as the first director of the Black Studies Program, where
16she remained until 1986; she also organized UIC's first Black
17History Month activities and founded the Black History Month
18Planning Committee, which she chaired for many years; she
19retired from UIC in 1990; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Grace Sims Holt was active in the UIC community
21throughout her career and became involved in women's and
22African-American issues at the national level; she was well

 

 

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1known as a pioneer for promoting the view of Black English as a
2dialect of standard English and for developing a black studies
3curriculum; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Grace Sims Holt served as a delegate to the White
5House Conference on Children; she served as a member of the
6Editorial Board of African-American Issues Magazine and the
7Constitutional Conference for the National Conference for
8Black Studies; she also served as chairperson of the education
9task force of the National Council for Negro Women; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Grace Sims Holt's many achievements were honored
11by numerous organizations; on the occasion of her retirement in
121990, the University of Illinois at Chicago established the
13Grace Holt Scholarship for young people seeking an opportunity
14to enter the African-American Studies Program; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Grace Sims Holt passed away in Chicago in 1991,
16leaving behind a legacy of professionalism and dedicated
17advocacy for equal opportunity to education; therefore, be it
 
18    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
20we honor Grace Sims Holt for her many achievements as an
21educator and for serving as an exemplar in the African-American
22community and as a source of inspiration during Black History

 

 

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1Month; and be it further
 
2    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
3presented to the family of Grace Sims Holt as a symbol of our
4esteem and respect.