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| | SR0054 | | LRB101 07903 MST 52958 r |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 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
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| 5 | | WHEREAS, Rosa McCauley married Raymond Parks on December
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| 6 | | 18, 1932; and
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| 7 | | WHEREAS, Rosa Parks was a member of the Montgomery
chapter |
| 8 | | of the NAACP and was an active volunteer for the Montgomery
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| 9 | | Voters League; and
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, The courage and conviction of Rosa Parks laid the
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| 11 | | foundation for equal rights for all Americans and for the Civil
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| 12 | | Rights Act of 1964; and
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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
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| 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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