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| 1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | ||||||
| 3 | learn of the death of poet, Maya Angelou; and
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| 4 | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and | ||||||
| 5 | influential voices of our time; hailed as a
global renaissance | ||||||
| 6 | woman, she is a celebrated poet, novelist, educator, producer,
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| 7 | actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist; and
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| 8 | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou was born on April 4th, 1928 in | ||||||
| 9 | St.
Louis, Missouri and raised in St. Louis and in Stamps, | ||||||
| 10 | Arkansas; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou was once
hailed as "America's | ||||||
| 12 | most visible black female autobiographer"; her first and most | ||||||
| 13 | highly
acclaimed work, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" | ||||||
| 14 | (1969), brought her international recognition and was
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| 15 | nominated for a National Book Award; she has been awarded over | ||||||
| 16 | 30 honorary degrees and was
nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for | ||||||
| 17 | her 1971 volume of poetry, "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water
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| 18 | 'Fore I Diiie"; the list of her published verse, non-fiction, | ||||||
| 19 | and fiction now includes more
than 30 bestselling titles; she | ||||||
| 20 | was a trailblazer in film and television; and
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| 21 | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou served on 2
presidential | ||||||
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| 1 | committees - one for President Gerald Ford in 1975 and one for | ||||||
| 2 | President Jimmy Carter in 1977; President Bill Clinton
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| 3 | requested that she compose a poem to read at his inauguration | ||||||
| 4 | in 1993 and her reading of her
poem "On the Pulse of the | ||||||
| 5 | Morning" was broadcast live around the world; in 2000, she was
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| 6 | awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton; she | ||||||
| 7 | received the Lincoln Medal in
2008 under President George W. | ||||||
| 8 | Bush and has received 3 Grammy Awards; in 2010, she was awarded
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| 9 | the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor | ||||||
| 10 | in the U.S., by President Barack
Obama; and
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| 11 | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou's words and actions will forever | ||||||
| 12 | live in our souls,
energize our bodies, liberate our minds, and | ||||||
| 13 | heal our hearts; therefore, be it
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| 14 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | ||||||
| 15 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | ||||||
| 16 | poet, Maya Angelou, and extend our sincere condolences to her | ||||||
| 17 | family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | ||||||
| 18 | further
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| 19 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
| 20 | presented to the family of Dr. Maya Angelou as an expression of | ||||||
| 21 | our deepest sympathy.
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