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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated was
3founded on December 4, 1906 by seven college men, respectfully
4known as the "Seven Jewels", on the campus of Cornell
5University in Ithaca, New York and became the first
6intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established by and for
7African Americans; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The Seven Jewels of the fraternity, Henry Arthur
9Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George
10Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle,
11and Vertner Woodson Tandy, recognized the need for a strong
12bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country
13and the need to help correct the educational, economic,
14political, and social injustices faced by African Americans
15and other people of color; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha initially served as a study and
17support group for minority students who faced racial
18prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell
19University; the Jewel founders and early leaders of the
20fraternity succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi
21Alpha's principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character,
22and the uplifting of humanity; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, While stressing academic excellence among its
2members since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has consistently
3supplied its voice and vision to the struggle of African
4Americans and people of color and to issues of civil rights
5around the world; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The aims of Alpha Phi Alpha are manly deeds,
7scholarship, and love for all mankind; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The mission of Alpha Phi Alpha is to develop
9leaders, promote brotherhood and academic excellence, and
10provide service and advocacy for communities, as exemplified
11through its national programs, including "Go to High School,
12Go to College", which focuses on the educational achievement
13of students in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary
14schools and has given thousands of dollars in scholarship
15funds to deserving students, "Project Alpha", which teaches
16teenage pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted disease
17prevention to young males, and its "A Voteless People is a
18Hopeless People" campaign, a voter registration and education
19program through which thousands of voters have been educated
20and registered; the fraternity also focuses on providing
21service through its strategic partnerships with Big Brothers
22Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of America, the March of Dimes, the
23American Heart/American Stroke Association, and the American
24Cancer Society; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, For more than 117 years, Alpha Phi Alpha has
2played a fundamental role in the positive development of the
3character and education of more than 200,000 men around the
4world; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has over 700 college and alumni
6chapters in the U.S., Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe;
7this total includes 141 chapters in the Midwestern Region, and
832 of those chapters are in Illinois; the fraternity's
9presence started in Illinois with the founding of the first
10college chapter in Illinois, the Theta Chapter, in 1910 and
11the first alumni chapter, the Xi Lambda Chapter, in 1924, both
12in Chicago; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include many
14noteworthy leaders in the areas of government, business,
15entertainment, science, and higher education, including Dr.
16Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, John
17Hope Franklin, John H. Johnson, Adam Clayton Powell, Andrew
18Young, Robert Smith, and Cornel West; its membership also
19includes federal, State, and local elected officials,
20including U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis, former U.S.
21Senators Edward Brook and Roland Burris, former State Senator
22Donne E. Trotter, former State Representative Al Riley, former
23State Representative Art Turner Jr., former Cook County Board

 

 

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1Presidents John and Todd Stroger, and former Mayor of Chicago
2Eugene Sawyer, among countless others who have long stood at
3the forefront of the fight for civil and human rights and
4social change for all Americans; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Several Alpha Phi Alpha members have served in
6the Illinois General Assembly, and members currently serving
7in the 103rd General Assembly are Speaker of the House of
8Representatives Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Representative Justin
9Slaughter, and Senator Elgie R. Sims Jr., who also served as
10the 26th Vice President of the Midwestern Region; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha continues to enrich the lives of
12its members, who, in turn, provide service and advocacy for
13the communities they serve; and
 
14    WHEREAS, On May 1, 2024, Illinois members of Alpha Phi
15Alpha Fraternity, Inc. will participate in Alpha Day at the
16Illinois State Capital; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. and Alpha Kappa
18Alpha Sorority, Inc. have joined together for this year's
19Alpha Day at the Capitol in a collective effort to advance the
20priorities of the communities they serve; therefore, be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE

 

 

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1HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
2we recognize the 2024 Alpha Phi Alpha Day held at the Illinois
3State Capitol and welcome the members of Alpha Phi Alpha to the
4Capitol; and be it further
 
5    RESOLVED, That we declare May 1, 2024 as Alpha Phi Alpha
6Day in the State of Illinois in honor of Alpha Phi Alpha
7Fraternity, Incorporated and its continued impact on the
8communities it serves.