Full Text of HR0609 98th General Assembly
HR0609 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to commemorate the 50th anniversary of | 4 | | James Meredith's graduation from the University of | 5 | | Mississippi; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, James Howard Meredith was born on June 25, 1933 in | 7 | | Kosciusko, Mississippi, and was raised on a farm with his 9 | 8 | | brothers and sisters; he first experienced institutionalized | 9 | | racism while riding a train from Chicago with his brother; when | 10 | | the train arrived in Memphis, Tennessee, he was ordered to give | 11 | | up his seat and move to the crowded black section of the train, | 12 | | where he had to stand for the rest of his trip home; this event | 13 | | spurred him to dedicate his life to ensuring equal treatment | 14 | | for African-Americans; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, After high school, James Meredith served in the | 16 | | United States Air Force for 9 years before enrolling in Jackson | 17 | | State College, an all-black school, in Mississippi; in 1961, he | 18 | | applied to the all-white University of Mississippi; he was | 19 | | admitted, but his admission was withdrawn when the registrar | 20 | | discovered his race; this action, done in violation of Brown v. | 21 | | Board of Education ruling, which ordered all public educational | 22 | | institutions to desegregate by this time, prompted him to file | 23 | | suit against the university alleging discrimination; although |
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| 1 | | the district court ruled against him, the case made its way to | 2 | | the United States Supreme Court, which ruled in his favor; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, When James Meredith arrived at the University of | 4 | | Mississippi to register for classes on September 20, 1962, he | 5 | | found the entrance blocked; after riots erupted, United States | 6 | | Marshals, military police, troops from the Mississippi | 7 | | National Guard, and officials from the United States Border | 8 | | Patrol were sent to quell the disturbances; on October 1, 1962, | 9 | | he became the first black student to enroll at the University | 10 | | of Mississippi, which has become known as a watershed moment in | 11 | | the civil rights movement; in 1963, he graduated from the | 12 | | University of Mississippi with a degree in political science; | 13 | | and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, After graduating from the University of | 15 | | Mississippi, James Meredith earned his Master's Degree in | 16 | | economics from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria and his law | 17 | | degree from Columbia University in 1968; from 1989 to 1991, he | 18 | | served as a domestic adviser to United States Senator Jesse | 19 | | Helms; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, James Meredith was the recipient of the Harvard | 21 | | Graduate School of Education's Medal for Education Impact on | 22 | | May 29, 2013 for his work in promoting school preparedness and | 23 | | building moral character in our nation's youth; therefore, be |
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| 1 | | it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 3 | | NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 4 | | we commemorate the 50th anniversary of James Meredith's | 5 | | graduation from the University of Mississippi and thank Mr. | 6 | | Meredith for his pioneering work in ensuring the equal | 7 | | treatment of all; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That we congratulate James Meredith on the | 9 | | occasion of his 80th birthday and wish him many happy and | 10 | | healthy years to come; and be it further | 11 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to James Meredith as a symbol of our respect and | 13 | | esteem.
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