Full Text of HR0686 93rd General Assembly
HR0686 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HR0686 |
|
LRB093 21325 KEF 47650 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, African-Americans have been a presence in | 3 |
| Illinois since the 1700s; in fact, the first outpost on the | 4 |
| land that is now Chicago was founded by a black man, | 5 |
| Jean-Baptiste DuSable; many are not aware of facts like these | 6 |
| and black history in Illinois in general, and that is why Black | 7 |
| History Month is so important to share our heritage with not | 8 |
| only other African-Americans, but all people, and to foster a | 9 |
| sense of pride and respect; and
| 10 |
| WHEREAS, At the beginning of the 93rd General Assembly, | 11 |
| January of 2003, Springfield welcomed 9 African-American State | 12 |
| Senators and 19 State Representatives; they joined the total of | 13 |
| 120 African-American legislators to serve Illinois throughout | 14 |
| its history; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS,
Illinois' first black State legislator, John W. E. | 16 |
| Thomas, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1876; it | 17 |
| is important to mention him first, not only because he was the | 18 |
| first, but he is often the first to be overlooked; if one takes | 19 |
| a tour of the Statehouse in Springfield, there is a statue of | 20 |
| the first black State Senator; but many tour guides will tell | 21 |
| you the statue represents the first elected black legislator; | 22 |
| and | 23 |
| WHEREAS,
John Thomas was born in Alabama in the 1840s and | 24 |
| moved to Chicago in 1869; he was an educator and opened the | 25 |
| city's first school for African-American children, along with | 26 |
| running a grocery store; when he won his election in 1876, | 27 |
| African-Americans were less than 2 percent of the city's | 28 |
| population, and a minority in his district; but despite the way | 29 |
| blacks were viewed at the time, Mr. Thomas put the issue of | 30 |
| equality for all on the table; he could have meekly sat in the | 31 |
| back of the chamber and remained inconspicuous, but he instead | 32 |
| chose to meet the issue of equality head on and was a sponsor |
|
|
|
HR0686 |
- 2 - |
LRB093 21325 KEF 47650 r |
|
| 1 |
| of the State civil rights law of 1885; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, Not much has been written on John W. E. Thomas, | 3 |
| but his character and commitment to public service in the face | 4 |
| of adversity warrant an understanding of his work and a | 5 |
| memorial of his name; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS,
Cecil Partee was the first African-American | 7 |
| elected to serve as one of the State's top four legislative | 8 |
| leaders; he spent 20 years in the General Assembly and held the | 9 |
| positions of both Senate Minority Leader and Senate President; | 10 |
| his breakthrough paved the way for African-Americans to reach | 11 |
| leadership positions in State government; and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, Today, Emil Jones, Jr. serves as Senate President | 13 |
| and Jesse White, who served in the House of Representatives, is | 14 |
| Secretary of State; and | 15 |
| WHEREAS,
Harold Washington, Chicago's first black mayor, | 16 |
| also started his career in the State legislature; he served in | 17 |
| the House of Representatives from 1965 to 1977 and in the State | 18 |
| Senate from 1977 through 1981; and | 19 |
| WHEREAS, Women are also included among the ranks of | 20 |
| African-American legislators, and although they are not as | 21 |
| common, their achievements are no less worthy of admiration; | 22 |
| black women have overcome two barriers in order to serve the | 23 |
| State of Illinois, barriers of race and gender; and | 24 |
| WHEREAS, Floy Clements was the woman who opened the door | 25 |
| for African-American women legislators to hold elected office | 26 |
| in Illinois, and she did this in 1958, a time when women in | 27 |
| general garnered less respect than men; and | 28 |
| WHEREAS, Carol Mosely Braun has had a long commitment to | 29 |
| serving the people of Illinois, through her recent attempt to |
|
|
|
HR0686 |
- 3 - |
LRB093 21325 KEF 47650 r |
|
| 1 |
| become the first black President, as well as the first female | 2 |
| President of the United States; she served in the Illinois | 3 |
| House of Representatives from 1979 through 1988, during which | 4 |
| she served as Assistant Minority Leader; she left the House to | 5 |
| become the Cook County Recorder of Deeds; seeing no boundaries | 6 |
| to her ambition, she became the first black woman elected to | 7 |
| the United States Senate; and | 8 |
| WHEREAS,
This lesson is taken seriously; all the | 9 |
| African-American State Representatives and two Latino members | 10 |
| are organized into the Illinois House Legislative Black Caucus; | 11 |
| and | 12 |
| WHEREAS, The Black Caucus stresses teamwork in order to | 13 |
| achieve equality; this means civil equality, economic | 14 |
| equality, educational equality, and political equality; they | 15 |
| have fought against racial profiling, the death penalty fiasco, | 16 |
| equal funding for schools that serve underprivileged | 17 |
| communities, and prejudice; and | 18 |
| WHEREAS,
Unity and cooperation are best means to get things | 19 |
| done; since the same basic values and goals are shared, it only | 20 |
| makes sense that we fight together in one battle instead of 21 | 21 |
| separate clandestine missions; therefore, be it
| 22 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 23 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 24 |
| recognize the efforts of African-American legislators and | 25 |
| their role in the history of this State.
|
|