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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, African American communities have demonstrated a
3history of perseverance in the face of adversity, rising from
4chattel slavery to form thousands of successful businesses in
5the years after abolition; and
 
6    WHEREAS, White supremacy manifested through individual and
7institutional racism has historically targeted Black Americans
8and Black businesses through government policy and
9extrajudicial means, resulting in stolen land, destroyed
10property, the loss of capital, and the loss of life,
11eliminating wealth-building opportunities for Black
12businessmen and businesswomen and damaging the potential to
13pass wealth to future generations; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Black communities have continually responded to
15these setbacks with renewed vigor to fight not only for civil
16rights and political freedom but also economic empowerment,
17equity, and economic justice; and
 
18    WHEREAS, The spirit of entrepreneurship displayed by the
19freedmen and freedwomen in the wake of abolition has continued
20through African American communities today, leading to the
21existence of over two million Black-owned businesses in the
22United States; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The spirit of enterprise is demonstrated by
2African American business owners who create businesses to
3pursue their passions and manage their future, manifested
4through the two-thirds of African American-owned businesses
5operated by members of Generation X and millennials and the
6over one-third of African American-owned businesses operated
7by Black women, who are the fastest-growing segment of
8entrepreneurs in the United States; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Immense challenges still exist for African
10American entrepreneurs as they face a general lack of access
11to capital sources available to other groups, steering by
12financial institutions into less desirable capital sources, a
13nearly total lockout from venture capital, and unequal access
14to amounts of capital provided to other people in similar
15circumstances, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated
16challenges for Black-owned businesses; and
 
17    WHEREAS, With the same spirit of enterprise and
18entrepreneurship demonstrated throughout African American
19history, Black businesses will recover and will thrive in a
20post-pandemic world; therefore, be it
 
21    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
22HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that

 

 

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1we declare August 2021 as Black Business Month in the State of
2Illinois; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That we are committed to providing equal
4opportunity for Black entrepreneurs and African American-owned
5businesses and to the elimination of business redlining
6targeting Black American entrepreneurs, and we will dedicate
7ourselves to developing and implementing laws and policies to
8achieve these goals.