Full Text of HR1514 95th General Assembly
HR1514 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives are pleased to congratulate Reverend Doctor | 4 |
| Lena J. McLin of Chicago on her 80th birthday; and
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| WHEREAS, Prompted by a calling from God on August 9, 1981, | 6 |
| Lena McLin started a bible class in a small meeting room in the | 7 |
| Conrad Hilton Hotel in downtown Chicago; during the next | 8 |
| several months, Dr. McLin fervently studied the Holy Bible and | 9 |
| attended divinity training classes and on February 26, 1982, | 10 |
| Dr. McLin was officially ordained as a minister;
the bible | 11 |
| classes became services as Holy Vessel Baptist Church, and Dr. | 12 |
| McLin was the pastor and the Minister of Music; and
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| WHEREAS, Once established at a permanent address, Dr. McLin | 14 |
| implemented outreach programs to help the Hyde Park community; | 15 |
| the church began providing food, clothing, bus and train fares, | 16 |
| temporary shelter, and Christian counseling to distressed men, | 17 |
| women, and children; in 2008, Holy Vessel celebrated its 27th | 18 |
| anniversary, and Dr. McLin celebrated her 26th anniversary as | 19 |
| an
ordained minister of God; and
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| WHEREAS, When she was five-years-old, Dr. Lena J. McLin | 21 |
| (nee Johnson) was sent from her home in Atlanta, Georgia to | 22 |
| Chicago to live with her "Uncle Ted", otherwise known as Thomas |
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| A. Dorsey, the father of Gospel music, and attended McCosh | 2 |
| Elementary School; after moving back to Atlanta, she graduated | 3 |
| from Booker T. Washington High School in 1947; she earned a | 4 |
| Bachelor of Music degree in piano and violin in 1951 at Spelman | 5 |
| College; she earned her Master of Music degree at the American | 6 |
| Conservatory of Music in Chicago; she also studied at Roosevelt | 7 |
| University and Chicago State University; and
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| WHEREAS, She started her teaching career at Julius H. Hess | 9 |
| Upper Grade Center in 1959, moving to Hubbard High School in | 10 |
| 1960; and
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| WHEREAS, As a founder of the McLin Ensemble and the McLin | 12 |
| Opera Company, she created performance opportunities for | 13 |
| African-American musicians; she taught at John Marshall Harlan | 14 |
| High School from 1963 to 1970, leaving to teach at the new | 15 |
| Kenwood Academy in Hyde Park; though Dr. McLin officially | 16 |
| retired from Kenwood in the mid-1990s, she has not stopped | 17 |
| educating and continues to teach vocal students at her South | 18 |
| Shore home every week; and
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| WHEREAS, Dr. McLin was born to be a musician; her mother | 20 |
| played the piano in their church in Atlanta, Georgia and when | 21 |
| Dr. McLin moved to Chicago to live with her uncle, Thomas A. | 22 |
| Dorsey, he had her serve as an accompanist for his famous | 23 |
| Pilgrim Baptist Church choir; and
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| WHEREAS, She has penned more than 400 published | 2 |
| compositions including cantatas, masses, solo and choral | 3 |
| arrangements of spirituals, anthems, art songs, Gospel songs, | 4 |
| rock operas, soul and pop songs, works for piano and orchestra, | 5 |
| and electronic music; one of her most famous compositions is | 6 |
| the cantata Free At Last: A Portrait Of Martin Luther King Jr. , | 7 |
| which she composed the night following the death of her | 8 |
| childhood friend Dr. King; she had already titled the cantata | 9 |
| before it was revealed that those same words would be engraved | 10 |
| on King's headstone; and
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| WHEREAS, She composed Gwendolyn Brooks: A Musical
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| Portrait , written for Illinois' official poet laureate;
Dr. | 13 |
| McLin, along with her choirs and singers from schools and | 14 |
| churches, has performed at dozens of events for the City of | 15 |
| Chicago; and
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| WHEREAS, She performed at the very first Chicago Gospelfest | 17 |
| in 1985, which originally was named in honor of her uncle, | 18 |
| Thomas A. Dorsey; she returned to the Gospelfest for its 10th | 19 |
| anniversary, and performed on-stage with Gospel music legends | 20 |
| Andre Crouch and Jesse Dixon; and
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| WHEREAS, For her many achievements as a master musician, | 22 |
| Dr. McLin was featured in the acclaimed P.B.S. television |
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| series "The History Makers", which chronicles significant | 2 |
| contributions that Blacks have made to America's culture; and
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| WHEREAS, Her 80th birthday celebration was held on | 4 |
| September 5, 2008 at Harambee House in Chicago; she was | 5 |
| surprised by many friends, family, her countless famous former | 6 |
| students, colleagues, and others whose lives she has touched; | 7 |
| therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 9 |
| NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 10 |
| congratulate Reverend Doctor Lena J. McLin on this momentous | 11 |
| occasion and wish her continued health, happiness, and music in | 12 |
| her life; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 14 |
| presented to Reverend Doctor Lena J. McLin as a symbol of our | 15 |
| respect and esteem.
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