HR1025 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1025 LRB093 22431 KEF 51805 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Vernon Jarrett on Sunday, May 23, 2004; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Jarrett was a leading African-American journalist whose reports and columns appeared in the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, and the Chicago Daily Defender; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Jarrett was born in Paris, Tennessee; his father was a principal and his mother was a school teacher, they were children of former slaves; he graduated from Knoxville (Tennessee) College; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Jarrett covered a race riot on his first day as a reporter for the Chicago Defender in 1946, and was delighted to see his byline appear alongside those of the activist W.E.B. DuBois and poet Langston Hughes; from 1948 to 1951, Mr. Jarrett and composer Oscar Brown Jr. produced "Negro Newsfront", the nation's first daily radio broadcast created by African Americans; he also worked for the Associated Negro Press; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Jarrett became the Chicago Tribune's first African-American columnist in 1970; he used his editorial voice as a forum for commentary on the social and economic trends affecting African Americans and the global concerns of pan-African politics; in 1983, he took his column to the Chicago Sun-Times, where he served on the editorial board and worked until 1994; he was known to be a distinctive voice, not only for the African-American community, but for all of Chicago; in his position as a columnist for the Sun-Times, he was a mentor to any reporter who sought his counsel; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Jarrett produced nearly 2,000 broadcasts on WLS-Channel 7; he always had a young student or intern co-hosting with him; he was a founder of the National Association of Black Journalists and served as its president from 1977 to 1979; he was current president of the group's Chicago chapter; also in 1977, he created the NAACP-sponsored ACT-SO program, or Academic, Cultural, Technological, and Scientific Olympics; ACT-SO has awarded more than $1,000,000 in scholarships, computers, and books to thousands of students; he also served as a member of the editorial board of the NAACP's 90-year-old Crisis Magazine; in addition, he was a senior fellow at the Great Cities Institute of the University of Illinois at Chicago and taught history and journalism at other colleges; and

WHEREAS, In 1998, Mr. Jarrett was inducted into the National Literary Hall of Fame at the University of Chicago's Gwendolyn Brooks Center; the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences awarded him its Silver Circle Award, recognizing his 30 years of contributions to the medium; he was honored with the first NAACP James Weldon Johnson Achievement Award; and

WHEREAS, In recent years, Mr. Jarrett was a columnist for the New York Times' New American News Syndicate and his social commentary was heard during "The Jarrett Journal", a news broadcast on WVON-AM, Chicago's only African-American owned radio station; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Jarrett had a passion for writing, was an avid reader, especially of history, and was a chronicler of black politics nationwide; he encouraged African-American children, as well as everyone, to read; he also promoted the reading of Carter G. Woodson's "The Miseducation of the Negro"; he wanted to make sure young people would have opportunities in many different fields; and

WHEREAS, Mr. Jarrett made African Americans realize they should be their very best and to make major contributions to society;

WHEREAS, Mr. Jarrett made a tremendous mark on African Americans similar to that of Malcolm X, Justice Thurgood Marshall, Mae Jemison, and Martin Luther King, Jr.; and

WHEREAS, The passing of Vernon Jarrett has been deeply felt by many, especially his wife, Fernetta; his son, Thomas; and his three grandchildren; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of Vernon Jarrett, a pioneer for African-American journalists who demonstrated the highest ideals of journalism and community responsibility; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the family of Vernon Jarrett as an expression of our sincerest condolences during their time of bereavement.