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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr. are true icons
3of the civil rights movement in McLean County; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was born in Decatur on November 7,
51926; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was drafted into the U.S. Navy in
71945, and he served until 1949; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy moved with his brother to
9Bloomington in 1959, and he earned a position as a punch-press
10operator; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Inspired by the 1960 NAACP state convention held
12in Bloomington, Merlin Kennedy joined protesters at local
13stores to call for an end to segregated lunch counters; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was elected president of the local
15NAACP chapter, spearheading the passage of the area's first
16fair housing ordinance in 1967 and co-founding the Human
17Relations Commissions in Bloomington and Normal; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy will long be remembered for his
19best known act of civil defiance, participating in the 1966

 

 

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1Christmas Parade dressed as Santa Claus despite threats of
2arrest; his bold action earned him the nickname "Black Santa";
3and
 
4    WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was the first chair of the
5Bloomington Human Relations Commission and the first recipient
6of the Normal Human Relations Commission's Martin Luther King
7Jr. Award; he was awarded the NAACP's Roy Wilkins Award in 1999
8for his efforts to fight racism; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was named a McLean County History
10Maker in 2015; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. was born near Shreveport, Louisiana
12on August 5, 1924; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. was a child of sharecroppers, and
14he began his work life picking cotton in Arkansas at age nine;
15and
 
16    WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. moved to Bloomington in 1945; he
17secured his first local job on the Chicago and Alton Railroad,
18burning weeds for a dollar a day; and
 
19    WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. first joined the local NAACP
20chapter in 1951; he became the local branch secretary in 1968,

 

 

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1a position he held into the 21st century; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. worked with other leaders of the
3local civil rights community for equal access to housing,
4education, and services; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. has been honored for his tireless
6efforts to end racial discrimination by a number of
7organizations, including the NAACP and the Bloomington Human
8Relations Commission; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. was named a McLean County History
10Maker in 2019; and
 
11    WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr. played pivotal
12roles in the success of the Bloomington-Normal NAACP; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The Bloomington community is honoring Merlin
14Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr. for their contributions to the local
15civil rights movement by dedicating streets in their names;
16therefore, be it
 
17    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
18HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
19we extend our sincere condolences to the family of Merlin
20Kennedy for his passing, and we celebrate the achievements and

 

 

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1legacies of Merlin Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr., two
2extraordinary men; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
4presented to the families of Merlin Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr.
5as expressions of our esteem and respect.