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| 1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The institution of slavery was terminated in a | ||||||
| 3 | complex series of
events occurring during and immediately after | ||||||
| 4 | the Civil War; and
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| 5 | WHEREAS, On June 19th, 1865, the last of the slaves held in | ||||||
| 6 | bondage in the
United States were set free; and
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| 7 | WHEREAS, All Americans benefit from and all Americans | ||||||
| 8 | should remember and
celebrate the ending of slavery and the | ||||||
| 9 | joining together of all of our people
in freedom; and
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| 10 | WHEREAS, Our free enterprise system is fundamentally at | ||||||
| 11 | odds with slavery and
has
been strengthened by its elimination; | ||||||
| 12 | and
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| 13 | WHEREAS, The African-American Cultural and Genealogical | ||||||
| 14 | Society of Illinois, located in Decatur,
began in 1993 with 25 | ||||||
| 15 | charter members; membership has grown to over 150 and the
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| 16 | organization is the only one of its kind in downstate Illinois | ||||||
| 17 | and is a
non-profit organization; and
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| 18 | WHEREAS, Because it is essential that all citizens learn | ||||||
| 19 | about African-American history,
a splendid and glorious story | ||||||
| 20 | often not taught in our public and private
schools, the Society | ||||||
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| 1 | helps to stimulate interest in African history in general,
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| 2 | which pre-dates 5000 B.C., and comprises the early history of | ||||||
| 3 | all mankind;
thus,
the Society serves the entire community; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, No single Day of Remembrance is currently | ||||||
| 5 | established for the
celebration of slavery's end; and
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| 6 | WHEREAS, The United States currently celebrates two | ||||||
| 7 | national Days of
Remembrance, "Flag Day" and "Pearl Harbor | ||||||
| 8 | Day"; and
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| 9 | WHEREAS, The State of Texas and six other states currently | ||||||
| 10 | celebrate
"Juneteenth" on June 19th of each year to recall the | ||||||
| 11 | end of slavery; and
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| 12 | WHEREAS, Each year, the African-American Cultural and | ||||||
| 13 | Genealogical Society of
Illinois presents its Juneteenth | ||||||
| 14 | Celebration National
Freedom Day Family Festival in memory of | ||||||
| 15 | founding board member Judith Bond;
this year, the organization | ||||||
| 16 | will present its 14th Annual Juneteenth Family
Festival | ||||||
| 17 | Celebration in Decatur on June 15 and June 16, 2007; therefore, | ||||||
| 18 | be it
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| 19 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
| 20 | NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
| 21 | recognize the African-American Cultural and Genealogical | ||||||
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| 1 | Society of Illinois, and we commend the group for its work in | ||||||
| 2 | the education of the citizens of Illinois regarding the rich | ||||||
| 3 | cultural heritage of African Americans; and be it further
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| 4 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 5 | presented to the
African-American Cultural and Genealogical | ||||||
| 6 | Society of Illinois and its Director, Evelyn Hood of Decatur, | ||||||
| 7 | as an expression
of our respect and esteem and with best wishes | ||||||
| 8 | for the success of the
Juneteenth Celebration.
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