Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0246

HR0246 LRB104 13074 LAW 25053 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was founded at Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914 by three African-American students, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, who united to form a fraternity that would exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship, and service; and

WHEREAS, The founders of Phi Beta Sigma offered support and encouragement to Arizona Cleaver Stemons, Pearl Anna Neal, Myrtle Tyler Faithful, Viola Tyler Goings, and Fannie Pettie Watts as they founded Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. at Howard University on January 16, 1920 to raise people's consciousness, encourage scholastic achievement, and foster unity among members, making Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta the first and only fraternity and sorority to be constitutionally bound to each other; and

WHEREAS, Phi Beta Sigma brothers believe that each member and potential member should be judged by their own merits, rather than family background, affluence, race, nationality, skin tone, or hair texture and should work to return newly acquired skills to the communities from which they came, with this conviction mirrored in the fraternity's motto, "Culture For Service and Service For Humanity"; and

WHEREAS, Phi Beta Sigma brothers contributed greatly to the literary and artistic movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, to the cause of civil rights, civic engagement, and freedom, and to the sciences, and membership has included writer Alain LeRoy Locke, poet and diplomat James Weldon Johnson, workers' rights activist A. Philip Randolph, scientist George Washington Carver, astronaut Victor Glover, Congressmen Elijah Cummings, John Lewis, Adriano Espaillat, and Harold Lee Washington, who also served as the first Black Mayor of Chicago, as well as Nnamdi Azikiwe and his contemporary Kwame Nkrumah, the first presidents of independent Nigeria and Ghana, respectively; and

WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta was the first Black greek-lettered organization to centralize its operations in a national headquarters, first to charter a chapter in Africa, and the first to form auxiliary groups and currently boasts hundreds of chapters worldwide and over 125,000 members who seek to upload its ideals of "Scholarship, Service, Sisterhood, and Finer Womanhood"; and

WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta sisters contributed greatly to the literary and artistic movement known as the Harlem Renaissance, to the cause of civil rights, civic engagement, and freedom, and to the sciences, and membership has included writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, attorney Violette Anderson, educator Dr. Elizabeth Koontz, journalist and media entrepreneur Clara McLaughlin, and psychiatrist and substance abuse treatment expert Dr. Alyce Gullattee; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare April 30, 2025 as Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta Day in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That we commend the efforts of the members of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. for their commitment to community service and recognize their collective contributions to making their communities a better place to live, work, and play; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the International President of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc., Chris V. Rey, the International First Vice President of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Illinoisan, David A. Turner, the International President of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., Dr. Stacie N. C. Grant, and the Great Lakes Regional Director and Illinois State Director of both the Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity and Zeta Phi Beta Sorority as a symbol our respect and esteem.