HR1488 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1488 LRB099 24011 MST 51601 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to recognize the life of Dr. Webb Evans, who passed away on February 23, 2015 at the age of 101; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Evans founded the United American Progress Association (UAPA) in 1961, which encourages African Americans to spend their money with African American business owners within the community; known as "Mr. Buy Black", he served as President of the UAPA for 51 years; and

WHEREAS, The legacy of Dr. Evans is fighting for economic justice for African Americans; he worked alongside numerous civil rights activists, including Medgar Evers, Dr. Vernon Johns, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., The Honorable Elijah Muhammad, Lu Palmer, Harold Washington, Wesley South, Minister Louis Farrakhan, Rev. Jesse Jackson, and a host of religious, civic, business, political, local, and national community leaders and ordinary people; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Evans received many accolades, including Honorary Citizen of the Great Volunteer State of Tennessee, induction into Chicago Senior Citizen Hall of Fame, and being listed in Who's Who in Black America; he traveled to Israel to study the Lifestyle of Blacks in the Holy Land; he was selected as Ambassador for Peace by the International Federation for World Peace, honored with a lifetime achievement award from WVON Radio, and received the Thurgood Marshall Award from the National Civil Rights Library Organization; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Evans published three books; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Evans was a member of PUSH, the Chatham Avalon Park Community Council, the Black United Front, the NAACP, the Cathedral Baptist Church, and the Baptist Pastors Conference of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, The Dr. Webb Evans Center for Economic Change will be dedicated on November 16, 2016; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Dr. Webb Evans, and extend our sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew and loved him; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Dr. Evans as an expression of our deepest sympathy.