Full Text of SJR0067 96th General Assembly
SJ0067 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
SJ0067 |
|
LRB096 12696 AJO 26340 r |
|
| 1 |
| SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, The Great Migration, a long-term movement of | 3 |
| African Americans from the South to the urban North, | 4 |
| transformed Chicago and other northern cities between 1916 and | 5 |
| 1970; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, Chicago attracted slightly more than 500,000 of | 7 |
| the approximately 7 million African Americans who left the | 8 |
| South during these decades; and
| 9 |
| WHEREAS, Before the Great Migration, African Americans | 10 |
| constituted just 2 percent of Chicago's population, but by 1970 | 11 |
| African Americans constituted 33 percent of Chicago's | 12 |
| population; and
| 13 |
| WHEREAS, What had been in the nineteenth century a largely | 14 |
| southern and rural African American culture became a culture | 15 |
| deeply infused with urban sensibility in the twentieth century; | 16 |
| and
| 17 |
| WHEREAS, What had been a marginalized population in Chicago | 18 |
| emerged by the mid-twentieth century as a powerful force in the | 19 |
| city's political, economic, and cultural life; and
| 20 |
| WHEREAS, The Black Metropolis National Heritage Area |
|
|
|
SJ0067 |
- 2 - |
LRB096 12696 AJO 26340 r |
|
| 1 |
| Project Steering Committee has worked with Congressman Bobby | 2 |
| Rush on federal legislation for the Black Metropolis District | 3 |
| National Heritage Area (NHA) and the Great Migration Centennial | 4 |
| will serve as one of the benchmarks for the National Heritage | 5 |
| Area which focuses on preservation, tourism & economic | 6 |
| development, conservation, recreation, education & | 7 |
| interpretation; and
| 8 |
| WHEREAS, The Black Metropolis National Heritage Area | 9 |
| Project Steering Committee has identified 10 Major Promise | 10 |
| Programs for the next century which include: | 11 |
| 1. Great Migration Public Art; | 12 |
| 2. In Motion: African American Migration Experience; | 13 |
| 3. Great Migration Trail: Rails to Trails Conservancy | 14 |
| Project; | 15 |
| 4. The Rosenwald Building; | 16 |
| 5. The Chicago Blues Museum; | 17 |
| 6. The Pullman Porter Great Migration Blues Trail; | 18 |
| 7. Leadership Development Institute; | 19 |
| 8. Faith-based and Neighborhood Partnerships; | 20 |
| 9. Black Metropolis Social Innovation Fund; and | 21 |
| 10. Bronzeville Postmark and Postal Sub-station; and
| 22 |
| WHEREAS, The Great Migration Centennial celebrates the | 23 |
| promise that Chicago once offered a people in search of a | 24 |
| better life 100 years ago; and
|
|
|
|
SJ0067 |
- 3 - |
LRB096 12696 AJO 26340 r |
|
| 1 |
| WHEREAS, The theme adopted by the Black Metropolis National | 2 |
| Heritage Project Steering Committee, "Creating a New Promise", | 3 |
| acknowledges the hope that has been restored through the new | 4 |
| political administration and addresses the need for the greater | 5 |
| Chicagoland region to deliver on its promise and create a new | 6 |
| social compact for the future; and | 7 |
| WHEREAS, To succeed in the 21st century global competition | 8 |
| for jobs, prosperity, and quality of life for all, we must have | 9 |
| inspiring and well-accepted plans to produce action; and | 10 |
| WHEREAS, The Great Migration Centennial will challenge | 11 |
| children and adults throughout the region to make choices today | 12 |
| that will define the way we live for the next century; | 13 |
| therefore, be it | 14 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL
| 15 |
| ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
| 16 |
| CONCURRING HEREIN, that the Illinois Great Migration | 17 |
| Centennial Commission is created; and be it further
| 18 |
| RESOLVED, That the members of the Commission shall include | 19 |
| the President of the Senate or his designee and the Speaker of | 20 |
| the House of Representatives or his designee, each serving as | 21 |
| one of the co-chairpersons, the Governor or his designee, one |
|
|
|
SJ0067 |
- 4 - |
LRB096 12696 AJO 26340 r |
|
| 1 |
| vice-chairperson appointed by the co-chairpersons, all of whom | 2 |
| shall serve as the Executive Committee and 25 appointed | 3 |
| members, with the Governor, the President of the Senate, the | 4 |
| Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of | 5 |
| the Senate, and the Minority Leader of the House of | 6 |
| Representatives appointing 5 members each; and be it further | 7 |
| RESOLVED, That the appointed members shall serve without | 8 |
| compensation, but shall be reimbursed for their reasonable and | 9 |
| necessary expenses if funds allow; and be it further | 10 |
| RESOLVED, That the appointed members shall be from diverse | 11 |
| backgrounds so as to reflect the diverse citizenry of Illinois | 12 |
| working together for a common democratic cause, and that their | 13 |
| individual qualifications shall include varying educational, | 14 |
| professional, and civic experiences that bring different | 15 |
| perspectives and cooperative outlooks to the Commission; and be | 16 |
| it further | 17 |
| RESOLVED, That the purpose of the Commission is to plan for | 18 |
| the Great Migration Centennial to be commemorated and | 19 |
| celebrated from January to December 2016 and to: | 20 |
| 1. Elevate the centennial of the Great Migration to a | 21 |
| high profile bi-partisan event; | 22 |
| 2. Recognize the Great Migration as the largest | 23 |
| migration to ever occur in North America; |
|
|
|
SJ0067 |
- 5 - |
LRB096 12696 AJO 26340 r |
|
| 1 |
| 3. Stimulate and encourage the creation and growth of | 2 |
| programs about the Great Migration; | 3 |
| 4. Highlight and publicize the institutions in the | 4 |
| State that are connected to the Great Migration and their | 5 |
| impact; | 6 |
| 5. Work with coordinated statewide groups | 7 |
| commemorating the 100th Anniversary of the Great | 8 |
| Migration; and | 9 |
| 6. Encourage communities and citizens to support and | 10 |
| get involved in the commemoration; and be it further | 11 |
| RESOLVED, The Great Migration Centennial Commission serves | 12 |
| to promote a deeper knowledge, understanding and engagement in | 13 |
| the life and times of the African American Migration | 14 |
| Experience, through conferences, publications, preservation of | 15 |
| historic sites, and local, statewide and national observances | 16 |
| as well as arts projects, forum, travel & tourism promotions | 17 |
| and year long celebration activities; and be it further | 18 |
| RESOLVED, That the Commission's preliminary goals are to | 19 |
| develop: | 20 |
| 1. a national honorary committee of historians, | 21 |
| educators, authors, politicians, celebrities and other | 22 |
| notables; | 23 |
| 2. educational curriculum, events, tours, exhibits and | 24 |
| programs at the elementary, high school, secondary, |
|
|
|
SJ0067 |
- 6 - |
LRB096 12696 AJO 26340 r |
|
| 1 |
| graduate and post-graduate level; | 2 |
| 3. a signature entertainment event for fundraising and | 3 |
| broadcast purposes; | 4 |
| 4. an educational symposium with university partners, | 5 |
| the National Endowment for the Arts, the National Endowment | 6 |
| for the Humanities, the Illinois Arts Council, as well as | 7 |
| private foundations and other philanthropic organizations; | 8 |
| 5. a year-long cultural promotional event calendar | 9 |
| supported by travel packages and other travel or tourism | 10 |
| incentives; and | 11 |
| 6. a logo and trademark design for official use on all | 12 |
| Centennial commissioned related merchandise, apparel and | 13 |
| products officially licensed; and be it further | 14 |
| RESOLVED, That the Commission shall meet as frequently as | 15 |
| necessary, at the call of the co-chairpersons; and be it | 16 |
| further | 17 |
| RESOLVED, The Commission shall have the option of creating | 18 |
| a Council of Advisors and any working groups or committees it | 19 |
| deems necessary; and, be it further | 20 |
| RESOLVED, The Commission shall have the option to | 21 |
| collaborate with any Federal or local commissions designated to | 22 |
| recognize the Great Migration Centennial commemoration via | 23 |
| internet links, shared exhibits, activities and programs; and |
|
|
|
SJ0067 |
- 7 - |
LRB096 12696 AJO 26340 r |
|
| 1 |
| be it further | 2 |
| RESOLVED, The Commission shall work with and establish | 3 |
| opportunities with the Chicago Department of Cultural Affairs | 4 |
| and the Mayor's Office of Special Events and Cultural Olympiad | 5 |
| 2016; and be it further | 6 |
| RESOLVED, That the Commission shall, while working in | 7 |
| coordination with and with the assistance of Black Metropolis | 8 |
| National Heritage Area Project Steering Committee, broaden | 9 |
| outreach by using established channels, including publicly | 10 |
| supported media and electronic, computer-assisted | 11 |
| communication systems, and elicit voluntary assistance from | 12 |
| educational, legal, civic, and professional organizations and | 13 |
| institutions, as well as, notable individuals; and be it | 14 |
| further | 15 |
| RESOLVED, That no later than December 31, 2010, the | 16 |
| Commission shall report to the General Assembly and the | 17 |
| Governor on its planning progress to commemorate and celebrate | 18 |
| the Great Migration Centennial; and be it further | 19 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 |
| delivered to the Governor of the State of Illinois.
|
|