HR0509 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0509 LRB098 12719 GRL 47199 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Rev. Dr. Albert Sampson on celebrating his 50th anniversary in the ministry and his 31st pastoral anniversary and subsequent retirement from Ferwood United Methodist Church; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson was born in 1938, in Everett, Massachusetts; he graduated from Everett High School in 1956; at the age of 19, he felt the strong call to enter the ministry and was licensed to preach in his home church of Emmanuel Baptist in Malden, Massachusetts; and

WHEREAS, While at Shaw University, Rev. Dr. Sampson earned his bachelor's degree in Religion and Social Science; he later received his master's degree in cultural studies in 1973 from Governors State University, his master's of divinity degree in 1977 from McCormick Theological Seminary, and his doctorate in divinity from Union Baptist Theological Seminary in Toledo, Ohio; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson is the founder and president of the Faith-Based Organized Farmer Agribusiness Resource Management and the Neighborhood Social Entrepreneurs Society; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson was only one of the three ministers ordained by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. at Ebenezer Baptist Church in 1966; he was also inducted into the Martin Luther King Jr. Board of Preachers at Morehouse College; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson was the SCLC Project Director under Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., playing a critically important role in the campaign for the election of Carl Stokes, who became the first black mayor of a major U.S. city, in Cleveland, Ohio; when Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. sought to fix affordable housing issues in America, he appointed Rev. Dr. Sampson as the National Housing Director of SCLC; and

WHEREAS, Rev. Dr. Sampson is a distinguished biblical scholar and theological consultant for the Original African Heritage Study Bible published by the Winston-Derrick Publishing Company; he has appeared in thousands of media outlets, such as Esquire and Ebony magazines, the New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, and USA Today; he is also featured in the History Makers DVD series as a Living Legend and his biography is recognized in Gale Group's Who's Who in Black America; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Rev. Dr. Albert Sampson on his 50th pastoral anniversary and his retirement and wish him continued success and happiness in the years to come; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Rev. Dr. Albert Sampson as a symbol of our respect and esteem.