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| | HR1152 | | LRB099 21366 MST 47231 r |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of |
| 3 | | Representatives wish to recognize the contributions of James |
| 4 | | Gray as President of the Alton branch of the NAACP for the past |
| 5 | | 24 years; and
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| 6 | | WHEREAS, James Gray dedicated his life to improving the |
| 7 | | lives of Alton's African-American community and
the community |
| 8 | | at-large; he has served as the President of the Alton branch of |
| 9 | | the NAACP since 1992; and
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| 10 | | WHEREAS, James Gray broke many barriers during his |
| 11 | | lifetime; in 1966, he was the first African-American
hired in |
| 12 | | the Light Oil Division of Amoco Oil Company; three years later |
| 13 | | he became the first African-American to be elected Union |
| 14 | | Representative in
Amoco's history; in 1971, he became the first |
| 15 | | African-American to be elected Union President at a major oil
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| 16 | | refinery in the United States; and
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| 17 | | WHEREAS, James Gray has been the recipient of numerous |
| 18 | | awards, including the "Yes I Can Award" for
Amoco from the St. |
| 19 | | Louis Urban League; for three years in a row, he was recognized |
| 20 | | by the
St. Louis American Newspaper for Blacks for making an |
| 21 | | impact in industry; and
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| | HR1152 | - 2 - | LRB099 21366 MST 47231 r |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, James Gray was instrumental in getting the City of |
| 2 | | Alton to make Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s
birthday a city |
| 3 | | holiday; and
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| 4 | | WHEREAS, James Gray worked with the Madison County Public |
| 5 | | Defender to bring African-American
representation by hiring |
| 6 | | attorneys Luther Simmons and Scott Turner; he worked with the |
| 7 | | Alton School District and Scott Air Force Base to establish a |
| 8 | | Junior
ROTC Program at Alton High School; and
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| 9 | | WHEREAS, James Gray has expanded the NAACP's programs to |
| 10 | | help underprivileged children
in the community; these programs |
| 11 | | include: giving away 1,000 backpacks full of school supplies
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| 12 | | every year at the Annual Back to School/Stay in School event, |
| 13 | | granting scholarships to students
to maintain a C-average, |
| 14 | | taking children on a field trip to visit the Civil Rights |
| 15 | | Museum in
Memphis, Tennessee, and helping children buy |
| 16 | | Christmas presents for their families; and
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| 17 | | WHEREAS, James Gray's dedication to the NAACP for the past |
| 18 | | 24 years has been unwavering; therefore, be it
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| 19 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE |
| 20 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we |
| 21 | | recognize the contributions of James Gray as President of the |
| 22 | | Alton branch of the NAACP; and be it further
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