Full Text of SR0054 101st General Assembly
SR0054 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Rosa Louise Parks was born on February 4, 1913 in | 3 | | Tuskegee,
Alabama, the first child of James and Leona (Edwards) | 4 | | McCauley; and
| 5 | | WHEREAS, Rosa McCauley married Raymond Parks on December
| 6 | | 18, 1932; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was a member of the Montgomery
chapter | 8 | | of the NAACP and was an active volunteer for the Montgomery
| 9 | | Voters League; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was arrested on December 1, 1955 in | 11 | | Montgomery, Alabama for refusing to give up her seat on a bus | 12 | | to a
white man, and her stand for equal rights became | 13 | | legendary; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The arrest of Rosa Parks for refusing to comply | 15 | | with Montgomery's segregation law was
the impetus for a boycott | 16 | | of Montgomery buses
led by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.; | 17 | | approximately 42,000 African
Americans participated in the | 18 | | boycott which lasted for 381 days; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, On November 13, 1956, the United States Supreme | 20 | | Court
ruled that Montgomery's segregation law was |
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| 1 | | unconstitutional, and Montgomery officials were ordered to | 2 | | desegregate
buses on December 20, 1956; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Rosa Parks is honored as the "Mother of the Modern | 4 | | Day
Civil Rights Movement", because her refusal to surrender | 5 | | her seat in
compliance with Montgomery's segregation law | 6 | | inspired the civil
rights movement, which has resulted in the | 7 | | breakdown of numerous
legal barriers and the lessening of | 8 | | profound discrimination against
African Americans in this | 9 | | country; and | 10 | | WHEREAS, The courage and conviction of Rosa Parks laid the
| 11 | | foundation for equal rights for all Americans and for the Civil
| 12 | | Rights Act of 1964; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Rosa Parks co-founded the Rosa and Raymond Parks | 14 | | Institute
for Self Development in 1987 with Elaine Easton | 15 | | Steele to motivate
and direct youth to achieve their highest | 16 | | potential through the
Pathways to Freedom program; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, Rosa Parks is the recipient of many awards | 18 | | including the
Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's | 19 | | highest civilian honor,
the Congressional Gold Medal of Honor, | 20 | | the highest honor Congress can
bestow upon a civilian, and the | 21 | | Spingarn Medal, the NAACP's highest award; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Rosa Parks has dedicated her life to the cause of | 2 | | human
rights and truly embodies the love of humanity and | 3 | | freedom; therefore, be it
| 4 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 5 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare Monday, | 6 | | February 4, 2019 as "Rosa
Parks Day" in the State of Illinois | 7 | | and urge all Illinoisans to pay homage to this great American | 8 | | Woman on the anniversary of her birth; and be it further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That we commemorate the legacy of Rosa Parks to | 10 | | inspire all people of Illinois and
the nation to stand up for | 11 | | freedom and the principles of the Constitution.
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