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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. was founded at
3Howard University in Washington, D.C. on January 9, 1914 by
4three African-American students, A. Langston Taylor, Leonard
5F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown, who united to form a fraternity
6that would exemplify the ideals of brotherhood, scholarship,
7and service; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The founders of Phi Beta Sigma offered support
9and encouragement to Arizona Cleaver Stemons, Pearl Anna Neal,
10Myrtle Tyler Faithful, Viola Tyler Goings, and Fannie Pettie
11Watts as they founded Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. at Howard
12University on January 16, 1920 to raise people's
13consciousness, encourage scholastic achievement, and foster
14unity among members, making Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta
15the first fraternity and sorority to be constitutionally bound
16to each other; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Phi Beta Sigma brothers believe that each member
18and potential member should be judged by their own merits,
19rather than family background, affluence, race, nationality,
20skin tone, or hair texture and should work to return newly
21acquired skills to the communities from which they come, with
22this conviction mirrored in the fraternity's motto, "Culture
23For Service and Service For Humanity"; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Phi Beta Sigma brothers contributed greatly to
2the literary and artistic movement known as the Harlem
3Renaissance, to the cause of civil rights, civic engagement,
4and freedom, and to the sciences, and membership has included
5writer Alain LeRoy Locke, poet and diplomat James Weldon
6Johnson, workers rights activist A. Philip Randolph, scientist
7George Washington Carver, astronaut Victor Glover, Congressman
8Elijah Cummings, Congressman John Lewis, and Nnamdi Azikiwe,
9the first president of independent Nigeria; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta was the first Black greek-lettered
11organization to centralize its operations in a national
12headquarters, first to charter a chapter in Africa, and the
13first to form auxiliary groups and currently boasts hundreds
14of chapters worldwide and over 100,000 members who seek to
15upload its ideals of "Scholarship, Service, Sisterhood, and
16Finer Womanhood"; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Zeta Phi Beta sisters contributed greatly to the
18literary and artistic movement known as the Harlem
19Renaissance, to the cause of civil rights, civic engagement,
20and freedom, and to the sciences, and membership has included
21writer and anthropologist Zora Neale Hurston, attorney
22Violette Anderson, educator Dr. Elizabeth Koontz, journalist
23and media entrepreneur Clara McLaughlin, and psychiatrist and

 

 

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1substance abuse treatment expert Dr. Alyce Gullattee;
2therefore, be it
 
3    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
4HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
5we declare April 26, 2023 as Phi Beta Sigma and Zeta Phi Beta
6Day at the Illinois State Capitol; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That we commend the efforts of the members of
8Zeta Phi Beta and Phi Beta Sigma for their commitment to
9community service and recognize their collective contributions
10to making their communities a better place to live, play, and
11work; and be it further
 
12    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
13presented Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and Phi Beta Sigma
14Fraternity, Inc. as a symbol our respect and esteem.