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1
SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, was
3founded on December 4, 1906 by seven college men, respectfully
4known as the Seven Jewels, on the campus of Cornell University
5in Ithaca, New York and became the first intercollegiate
6Greek-letter fraternity established by and for African
7Americans; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The Seven Jewels of the Fraternity, Henry Arthur
9Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George
10Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle,
11and Vertner Woodson Tandy, recognized the need for a strong
12bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country
13and the need to help correct the educational, economic,
14political, and social injustices faced by African Americans
15and other people of color; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha initially served as a study and
17support group for minority students who faced racial
18prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell
19University; the founders and early leaders of the Fraternity
20succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi Alpha's
21principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character, and the
22uplifting of humanity; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, While stressing academic excellence among its
2members since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has consistently
3supplied its voice and vision to the struggle of African
4Americans and people of color and to issues of civil rights
5around the world; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The aims of Alpha Phi Alpha are manly deeds,
7scholarship, and love for all mankind; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The mission of Alpha Phi Alpha is to develop
9leaders, promote brotherhood and academic excellence, and
10provide service and advocacy for communities, as exemplified
11through its national programs, which include "Go to High
12School, Go to College," a program focused on the educational
13achievement of students in elementary, secondary, and
14post-secondary schools that has given thousands of dollars in
15scholarship funds to deserving students, "Project Alpha," a
16program that teaches teenage pregnancy prevention and sexually
17transmitted disease prevention to young males, and the "A
18Voteless People is a Hopeless People" campaign, a voter
19registration and education program through which thousands of
20voters have been educated and registered; the Fraternity also
21focuses on providing service through its strategic
22partnerships with Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of
23America, the March of Dimes, the American Heart/American
24Stroke Association, and the American Cancer Society; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, For over 115 years, Alpha Phi Alpha has played a
2fundamental role in the positive development of the character
3and education of more than 200,000 men around the world; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has over 700 college and alumni
5chapters in the United States of America, Africa, Asia, the
6Caribbean, and Europe; this total includes 141 chapters in the
7Midwestern Region, including 32 in Illinois; its presence
8started in Illinois with the founding of the Theta Chapter in
91910, the first college chapter in Illinois, and the Xi Lambda
10Chapter in 1924, the first alumni chapter, both in Chicago;
11and
 
12    WHEREAS, Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include many
13noteworthy leaders in the areas of government, business,
14entertainment, science, and higher education, including Dr.
15Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, John
16Hope Franklin, John H. Johnson, Adam Clayton Powell, Andrew
17Young, Robert Smith, and Cornel West; its membership also
18includes federal, State, and local elected officials,
19including U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis, former U.S.
20Senators Edward Brook and Roland Burris, former State Senator
21Donne E. Trotter, former State Representative Al Riley, former
22State Representative Art Turner Jr., former Cook County Board
23Presidents John and Todd Stroger, and former Mayor of Chicago

 

 

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1Eugene Sawyer, among countless others who have long stood at
2the forefront of the fight for civil and human rights and
3social change for all Americans; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Several Alpha Phi Alpha members have served in
5the Illinois General Assembly; of the 102nd General Assembly,
6those members include Representative Justin Slaughter, Speaker
7of the House of Representatives Emanuel "Chris" Welch, and
8Senator Elgie R. Sims Jr., who also served as the 26th vice
9president of the Midwestern Region; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha continues to enrich the lives of
11its members, who, in turn, provide service and advocacy for
12the communities they serve; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL
14ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare March 16,
152022 as Alpha Phi Alpha Day in the State of Illinois in honor
16of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated and its continued
17impact on the communities it serves; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we welcome the members of Alpha Phi Alpha
19to the Illinois State Capitol on Alpha Phi Alpha Day.