Full Text of HR1178 93rd General Assembly
HR1178 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the | 3 |
| State of Illinois learned with great sadness of the death of | 4 |
| noted journalist and community activist Lutrelle "Lu" Palmer on | 5 |
| Sunday, September 12, 2004; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer was born in Newport News, Virginia; he | 7 |
| graduated from Virginia Union University in 1942, received his | 8 |
| master's degree from Syracuse University in 1947, and his Ph.D. | 9 |
| in Mass Media Communications from Iowa State University in | 10 |
| 1955; he is the recipient of an honorary degree from St. | 11 |
| Martin's College and Seminary, which bestowed upon him a Doctor | 12 |
| of Human Letters in 1983; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer worked as a reporter for several | 14 |
| Chicago papers including the Chicago Defender, the Chicago | 15 |
| Courier, the Chicago American, and the Chicago Daily News, | 16 |
| where he was also a syndicated columnist; he served as the | 17 |
| editor of the Tri-State Defender, based in Nashville, | 18 |
| Tennessee; he also worked as a recruiter, organizer, and | 19 |
| preceptor for the Associated Colleges of the Midwest from 1970 | 20 |
| to 1990; and
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| WHEREAS, In addition to his work in newspapers, Mr. Palmer | 22 |
| became famous through his radio broadcasts of "Lu's Notebook", | 23 |
| which at one time was aired on four radio stations; at the end | 24 |
| of his broadcast career, he hosted a night on WVON's "On | 25 |
| Target" show; he was a writer and editorial director for | 26 |
| Congressman Ralph Metcalfe in the 1970s and the 1980s, and he | 27 |
| worked in public relations for Michael Reese Hospital in the | 28 |
| 1960s and 1970s; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer was the founder of Chicago Black United | 30 |
| Communities (CBUC) and served as chairman of the organization | 31 |
| from 1979 until 1987; through his work at CBUC, he spear-headed |
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| the move to elect Chicago's first African-American mayor, | 2 |
| Harold Washington, through the "We Shall See in '83" campaign; | 3 |
| he also founded the Black Independent Political Organization | 4 |
| (BIPO) and the Black Business Network, and he founded, edited, | 5 |
| and published the Black X-Press Info-Paper in Chicago from 1971 | 6 |
| to 1974; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer's final position was chairman of United | 8 |
| Services of Chicago, Inc., where he was chairman of the Board | 9 |
| of Directors of this State-funded program, a group living | 10 |
| facility on Chicago's south side; and
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| WHEREAS, All over the country, Mr. Palmer conducted | 12 |
| seminars and participated in workshops where his expertise and | 13 |
| his messages have been that of imparting valuable information | 14 |
| and providing direction for untold masses of people regarding | 15 |
| the enrichment and lifting up of African Americans; in Chicago, | 16 |
| he led such fights as the removal of asbestos from Chicago | 17 |
| schools and the fight against the wrongful draft of African | 18 |
| Americans in the armed services; behind the scenes, he helped | 19 |
| in the mobilization to unseat Edward Hanrahan after the murders | 20 |
| of Fred Hampton and Mark Clark of the Black Panther Party and | 21 |
| also provided assistance in the mobilization against police | 22 |
| brutality in the 1970s; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Palmer provided vital research to the groups | 24 |
| that fought over-crowding of schools in African-American | 25 |
| neighborhoods and did the same for groups that coalesced to | 26 |
| have the first African American selected as Superintendent of | 27 |
| the Chicago School Board; and
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| WHEREAS, During his years of journalistic activism in the | 29 |
| Chicago area, Mr. Palmer received several notable honors for | 30 |
| his work; he was inducted into the Black Press Hall of Fame on | 31 |
| October 22, 1989; in addition to his numerous awards and | 32 |
| honors, he was a recipient of the Journalistic Excellence Award |
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| given by the National Conference of Black Lawyers in 1977, the | 2 |
| Frederick Douglas Award in 1998, the Jomo Kenyatta Award for | 3 |
| Political Activism in 1994, and a Thank You Picture Plaque from | 4 |
| Nelson Mandela and the ANC in 1990; and
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| WHEREAS, It was Lu Palmer who solidified KWANZAA as an | 6 |
| African-American observance; on his radio program, he | 7 |
| presented the Seven Principles of Nguzo Saba on a daily basis | 8 |
| in an effort to help listeners understand, absorb, and seek | 9 |
| more clarity and participation in African-based cultural | 10 |
| rhythms; and
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| WHEREAS, The passing of Mr. Palmer has been deeply felt by | 12 |
| many, especially his wife, Jorja Palmer; his three daughters; | 13 |
| his two sons; his five grandchildren; and his two | 14 |
| great-grandchildren; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 16 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 17 |
| mourn the passing of Lutrelle "Lu" Palmer, who leaves behind a | 18 |
| legacy of impeccable integrity and an intense desire to correct | 19 |
| injustice; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 |
| presented to the family of Mr. Palmer as an expression of our | 22 |
| deepest sympathy during their time of bereavement.
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