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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, People of Caribbean heritage are found in every
3state across the country; and
 
4    WHEREAS, During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a
5significant number of Africans who had been held in the
6Caribbean region were brought to the United States and
7enslaved; and
 
8    WHEREAS, During those same centuries, some native people
9from the United States were deported to the Caribbean; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The countries of the Caribbean, much like the
11United States, faced obstacles of slavery and colonialism and
12struggled for independence; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The people of the Caribbean region, also similar
14to the United States, have diverse racial, cultural, and
15religious backgrounds; and
 
16    WHEREAS, During the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries,
17Caribbean immigrants have faced economic crises in their
18countries and so have chosen to come to the United States for
19better economic and educational opportunities; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Caribbean Americans have become leaders in every
2sector of the country while maintaining the varied traditions
3of their countries of origin; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first female
5vice president of the United States, is of Jamaican heritage;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Colin Powell, the first African-American
8Secretary of State who additionally served as the United
9States National Security Advisor and chairman of the Joint
10Chiefs of Staff, was of Jamaican heritage; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay, the writer and
12poet who became a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance,
13was born in Jamaica; and
 
14    WHEREAS, James Weldon Johnson, Harlem Renaissance poet and
15author of the Black national anthem "Lift Every Voice and
16Sing", was of Bahamian and Haitian heritage; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Celia Cruz, the late famous Salsa singer, was
18born in Cuba; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Midwin Charles, a former attorney and legal
20analyst for CNN and MSNBC, was of Haitian heritage; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the chair of the Health
2Equity Task Force under the Biden administration, hails from
3St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to receive
5the Academy Award for Best Actor, was of Bahamian heritage;
6and
 
7    WHEREAS, Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman
8and the first Black woman to run for president, was of
9Barbadian and Guyanese heritage; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Carlos Juan Finlay, the epidemiologist who
11discovered that Yellow Fever was transmitted by the Stegomyia
12aegypti mosquito, was Cuban; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Oscar de la Renta, the late fashion designer, was
14born in the Dominican Republic; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Malcolm X, the late Nation of Islam spokesman,
16was of Grenadian heritage; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the Black pioneer
18and recognized founder of Chicago, was born in Haiti; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Harry Belafonte, the Calypso singer and civil
2rights activist, is of Jamaican and Martinican heritage; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Marcus Garvey, the Black nationalist movement
4leader, was born in Jamaica; and
 
5    WHEREAS, John Russwurm, the first Black editor of a U.S.
6newspaper and the third African-American to graduate from a
7U.S. college, was born in Jamaica; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Dr. Antonia Novello, the first female U.S.
9Surgeon General, hails from Puerto Rico; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman
11appointed to the federal bench, was of Nevisian heritage; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the U.S.
13Treasury, was born on Nevis; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, is
15of Kittitians and Jamaican heritage; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Stokley Carmichael, the late Black Power
17activist, was born in Trinidad; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Kelsey Grammer, the Emmy-winning actor of the

 

 

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1sitcom Frasier, hails from St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin
2Islands; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Dr. William Thornton, the British-American
4physician and architect who designed the U.S. Capitol, was
5born on Jost van Dyke of the British Virgin Islands; and
 
6    WHEREAS, A number of Caribbean-American leaders are based
7in Illinois; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Marie Lynn Toussaint, the Cook County Assistant
9Public Defender and chairperson of the Haitian Congress to
10Fortify Haiti, is of Haitian heritage; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Cesar Rolon, a leader of the community
12organization Illinois Unidos, which addresses COVID-19 in
13Latin communities, is of Puerto Rican heritage; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Rafael Nunez-Cedeno, the founder and president of
15the Dominican American Midwest Association, is of Dominican
16heritage; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Anton and Anthony Downing, Chicago firefighters
18and house flippers, are of Bahamian heritage; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Caribbean Americans have contributed greatly to

 

 

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1education, the fine arts, business, literature, journalism,
2sports, fashion, politics, the government, the military,
3music, science, technology, and other areas in the United
4States; therefore, be it
 
5    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
6HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
7we declare the month of June 2022 as Caribbean-American
8Heritage Month in the State of Illinois; and be it further
 
9    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
10presented to Governor JB Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel
11"Chris" Welch, Senate President Don Harmon, House Minority
12Leader Jim Durkin, and Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie.