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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives are saddened to learn of the death of Anthony
4James Bradford; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford was born to Dorothy Joiner and
6Thomas Fields on November 2, 1964; he was raised in Chicago
7along with his four siblings by his mother Dorothy and Robert
8"Pops" Joiner; he attended First New Mt. Olive Baptist Church,
9where he previously served as an usher; he attended Gillespie
10Elementary School and Julian High School; after graduation, he
11briefly attended Grambling State University and then returned
12home, where he became employed in the Northwestern University
13Mail Services department; he was affectionately known as "Amp"
14or "AJ"; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford dreamed of becoming a lawyer and
16also of joining the United States Peace Corps; after nearly
17eight years, he resigned from his position at Northwestern
18University and enrolled in Western Illinois University, where
19he was a member of the Black Student Association, the
20Political Science Club, and the Pre Law Club; he served as an
21aide to then-Mayor Tom Carperand and assisted with his
22political campaigns; he also volunteered in the community and
23within other campus organizations; he made history when he

 

 

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1became the first African American student to serve as student
2representative on the Western Illinois University Board of
3Trustees; he received his bachelor's degree in May 1995; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford returned to Chicago and, along
5with nine other students from across the United States, was
6selected to participate in the prestigious Pre-Law Summer
7Institute at John Marshall Law School; one of his most
8cherished memories was having an opportunity to argue through
9mock trial the groundbreaking civil rights case Dred Scott v.
10Sanford in the presence of a room filled with judges, lawyers,
11law professors, other members of the legal community, and his
12fellow program participants; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford was sworn in as a United States
14Peace Corps volunteer in the fall of 1996; during his years of
15service, he served as an agro business consultant and liaison,
16ESL teacher, and a grant writer in Grand Goave, Haiti; he was
17instrumental in securing funding for many local water and
18agricultural projects; he loved Haiti and embraced many
19aspects of Haitian culture; an incident in which he ran his
20bike into a six year old orphaned boy, Chelot, would change the
21trajectory of both of their lives and hearts; as his Peace
22Corps end of service date approached, he focused on legally
23adopting Chelot and bringing him back to the United States; in
242001, he married Ge'ylah Jones Allen and gained two sons and a

 

 

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1daughter, Aaron Oschea, Johnathan Lee, and Shauntia Caprice;
2in 2006, Chelot joined his family in Chicago; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford held many jobs in social service
4management, but his passion was education; he taught for over
520 years within the Chicago, Baltimore, and Florida public
6school systems; he was an exceptionally gifted historian and
7political scientist; his specialty was foreign policy and
8civil rights; he was an avid reader and enjoyed watching
9political news; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford served as president of the 9600
11Princeton Block Club for several years; he pioneered the
12city's prestigious Garden of Excellence Award; he received
13numerous acknowledgments for his unending service, including
14the Roseland YMCA Community Service and Volunteer Award and
15the Western Illinois University Black Student Union Volunteer
16of the Year; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Anthony Bradford loved his family; as a first
18generation college attendee and graduate, he was a
19trailblazer; he influenced and assisted his siblings and many
20of his cousins, nieces, and nephews with the college
21enrollment process; he also had a strong bond with his
22grandmothers; his cousins were like siblings, and his friends
23were like cousins; he will always be remembered for his

 

 

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1willingness to help anyone and everyone; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Posthumously, Anthony Bradford's family will
3finalize the publication of his memoir, From the Hood to
4Haiti, a companion project to the many high school and
5collegiate speaking appearances that bore the same title; his
6long-standing message within the project was that as an inner
7city, non-Ivy League college graduate, despite the obstacles
8and challenges he faced, he was able to endure and complete the
9rigorous Peace Corps application process and live out one of
10his biggest dreams; therefore, be it
 
11    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
12HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
13we mourn the passing of Anthony James Bradford and extend our
14sincere condolences to his family, friends, and all who knew
15and loved him; and be it further
 
16    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17presented to the family of Anthony Bradford as an expression
18of our deepest sympathy.