Illinois General Assembly - Full Text of HR0325
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Full Text of HR0325  100th General Assembly

HR0325 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY


  

 


 
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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, It is important to understand the history of the
3United States and those who played a significant role in that
4history, blazing trails for those to come; all too often, some
5of those figures are lost to history, and so it is fitting to
6recognize those who dedicate themselves to its preservation;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, Maggie Walker was born Maggie Lena Mitchell on
9July 15, 1864 in Richmond, Virginia, on an estate owned by an
10abolitionist; her mother was a former slave working at the
11estate as a cook and her stepfather was the butler; she was
12educated as a teacher and taught at Lancaster School until her
13marriage to Armstead Walker Jr. in September of 1886; and
 
14    WHEREAS, At the age of 14, Maggie Walker became a member of
15the Grand United Order of St. Luke, an African American
16fraternal organization established to assure proper health
17care and burial arrangements to its members and to encourage
18self-help and racial solidarity; in 1899, she became the
19Executive Secretary-Treasurer; and
 
20    WHEREAS, Maggie Walker began publishing a newsletter, The
21St. Luke Herald, to increase awareness of the organization and
22help in the educational work of the Order; the following year,

 

 

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1she opened the St. Luke Penny Savings Bank and became its first
2president; and
 
3    WHEREAS, Maggie Walker spread tools of economic
4independence in the days of Jim Crow and she hired and trained
5African American women at a time when even white women
6struggled for opportunities; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Maggie Walker passed away in Richmond, Virginia on
8December 15, 1934; her house is now a National Historic Site;
9and
 
10    WHEREAS, In early 2009, a group of students from the
11College of William and Mary, while exploring the attic of an
12old building, came across piles of documents from the 1920s and
131930s from businesses owned by the Order of St. Luke; included
14in the find were letters to and from Maggie Walker; and
 
15    WHEREAS, Over the next eight years, a group of 16
16volunteers, calling themselves The Maggie Walker Community,
17headed by William and Mary professor Heather Huyck, examined,
18organized, and preserved the documents; the diverse group of
19black, white, and Asian women, between the ages of 50 to 89,
20forged deep bonds while understanding the challenges of race
21and gender in the early 20th century, especially the role of
22black women as community builders and organizers; therefore, be

 

 

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1it
 
2    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
3HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
4recognize Maggie Lena Walker, an African American icon and the
5first African American woman to charter and become President of
6a bank in the United States; and be it further
 
7    RESOLVED, That we salute the members of The Maggie Walker
8Community for their years of dedication to the preservation of
9materials related to the amazing life and legacy of Maggie
10Walker; and be it further
 
11    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
12presented to Heather Huyck and The Maggie Walker Community, the
13Community Bankers Association of Illinois, the Abraham Lincoln
14Presidential Library and Museum, the National Museum of
15African-American History and Culture, the National Civil
16Rights Museum, the Springfield African-American Historical
17Museum, and the DuSable Museum of African-American History as a
18symbol of our esteem and respect.