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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION | ||||||
| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
| 3 | Representatives wish to recognize the life of John Briggs, the | ||||||
| 4 | first Black hotel owner of the City of Rockford; and | ||||||
| 5 | WHEREAS, John Briggs was born in Augusta, Georgia on April | ||||||
| 6 | 18, 1894; he served in the U.S. Army during World War I; | ||||||
| 7 | following his military service, he eventually settled in | ||||||
| 8 | Rockford, Illinois, where he became a distinguished hotel and | ||||||
| 9 | resort business owner, a community builder, and a guiding | ||||||
| 10 | light for African-American businesses; and | ||||||
| 11 | WHEREAS, John Briggs was the owner of the Briggs Hotel on | ||||||
| 12 | 629 Court Street in Rockford from 1938 to 1959, and his hotel | ||||||
| 13 | became known as the first home to many African Americans | ||||||
| 14 | migrating from the south to Rockford; his hotel also gained | ||||||
| 15 | the distinction of being listed in The Negro Motorist | ||||||
| 16 | Green-Book, an annual, national guidebook that assisted Black | ||||||
| 17 | travelers with finding hospitable locations and businesses | ||||||
| 18 | during the era of Jim Crow laws; and | ||||||
| 19 | WHEREAS, John Briggs achieved success in other | ||||||
| 20 | entrepreneurial ventures; he owned and operated The Briggs | ||||||
| 21 | Mounds resort at Lake Koshkonong in Wisconsin and Club Morocco | ||||||
| 22 | at Briggs Farms in Rockford, where he hosted the well-regarded | ||||||
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| 1 | Briggs Picnics; he was also a distinguished member of the | ||||||
| 2 | Booker Washington Community Center; and | ||||||
| 3 | WHEREAS, Over the course of his professional life, John | ||||||
| 4 | Briggs made outstanding contributions to the African-American | ||||||
| 5 | community of Rockford and was regarded as a local leader known | ||||||
| 6 | for his commitment to advancing and helping others; he passed | ||||||
| 7 | away on April 24, 1959; and | ||||||
| 8 | WHEREAS, John Briggs' legacy has been and continues to be | ||||||
| 9 | celebrated by the City of Rockford, which previously | ||||||
| 10 | proclaimed the month of April 2021 as John Briggs Month and | ||||||
| 11 | also declared a John Briggs Day, and his impact was further | ||||||
| 12 | immortalized with the official renaming of a portion of Court | ||||||
| 13 | Street as John Briggs Way by the Rockford City Council in | ||||||
| 14 | February 2024; therefore, be it | ||||||
| 15 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
| 16 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
| 17 | we recognize the life of John Briggs, the first Black hotel | ||||||
| 18 | owner of the City of Rockford, and his impact on and historical | ||||||
| 19 | significance to the Rockford community; and be it further | ||||||
| 20 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 21 | presented to the great-great-niece of John Briggs, Dr. Brandi | ||||||
| 22 | DeShawn Brown, as an expression of our esteem and respect. | ||||||