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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court
3issued the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of
4Topeka, Kansas, declaring unconstitutional any and all laws
5that established or maintained segregation in schools; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In 1957, in response to the ruling, 9
7African-American students, working with the National
8Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP),
9registered to attend Little Rock Central High School; dubbed
10"The Little Rock Nine", they were denied entry to the school by
11Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, who ordered the Arkansas
12National Guard deployed to deny the students access; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The Little Rock Nine were escorted into the school
14by the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division as ordered
15by President Dwight D. Eisenhower; the students encountered
16abuse and persecution at the hands of whites, but, in the end,
17enforced their civil rights by taking a stand for justice and
18equality; they have gone on to live lives dedicated to the
19proposition that racist ideology will not dictate educational
20policies and practices now or in the future; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The Little Rock Nine are: Dr. Melba Pattillo
22Beals, Elizabeth Eckford, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Ernest Green,

 

 

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1Carlotta Walls LaNier, Dr. Terrence J. Roberts, Jefferson
2Thomas, Minnijean Brown Trickey, and Thelma Mothershed Wair;
3together they support The Little Rock Nine Foundation, which
4advances the ideals of justice and equal opportunity for all;
5and
 
6    WHEREAS, The many honors received by The Little Rock Nine
7include the NAACP's Spingarn Medal (1957), The Congressional
8Gold Medal of Honor (1999), a commemorative United States
9postage stamp (2005), and a commemorative 50th anniversary
10one-dollar coin issued by the U.S. Mint (2007); and
 
11    WHEREAS, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library
12Foundation has named The Little Rock Nine as its 2015 Lincoln
13Leadership Prize Recipients; therefore, be it
 
14    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL
15ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize The Little
16Rock Nine and the dedication they have shown to the advancement
17of civil rights; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we declare May 19, 2015 as The Little Rock
19Nine Day; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
21presented to The Little Rock Nine as an expression of our

 

 

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1esteem and respect.