Full Text of SR1261 98th General Assembly
SR1261 98TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened to | 3 | | learn of the death of poet, Maya Angelou; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou is one of the most renowned and | 5 | | influential voices of our time; hailed as a
global renaissance | 6 | | woman, she is a celebrated poet, novelist, educator, producer,
| 7 | | actress, historian, filmmaker, and civil rights activist; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou was born on April 4th, 1928 in | 9 | | St.
Louis, Missouri and raised in St. Louis and in Stamps, | 10 | | Arkansas; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou was once
hailed as "America's | 12 | | most visible black female autobiographer"; her first and most | 13 | | highly
acclaimed work, "I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings" | 14 | | (1969), brought her international recognition and was
| 15 | | nominated for a National Book Award; she has been awarded over | 16 | | 30 honorary degrees and was
nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for | 17 | | her 1971 volume of poetry, "Just Give Me a Cool Drink of Water
| 18 | | 'Fore I Diiie"; the list of her published verse, non-fiction, | 19 | | and fiction now includes more
than 30 bestselling titles; she | 20 | | was a trailblazer in film and television; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou served on 2
presidential |
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| 1 | | committees - one for President Gerald Ford in 1975 and one for | 2 | | President Jimmy Carter in 1977; President Bill Clinton
| 3 | | requested that she compose a poem to read at his inauguration | 4 | | in 1993 and her reading of her
poem "On the Pulse of the | 5 | | Morning" was broadcast live around the world; in 2000, she was
| 6 | | awarded the National Medal of Arts by President Clinton; she | 7 | | received the Lincoln Medal in
2008 under President George W. | 8 | | Bush and has received 3 Grammy Awards; in 2010, she was awarded
| 9 | | the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor | 10 | | in the U.S., by President Barack
Obama; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Maya Angelou's words and actions will forever | 12 | | live in our souls,
energize our bodies, liberate our minds, and | 13 | | heal our hearts; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-EIGHTH GENERAL | 15 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we mourn the passing of | 16 | | poet, Maya Angelou, and extend our sincere condolences to her | 17 | | family, friends, and all who knew and loved her; and be it | 18 | | further
| 19 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 20 | | presented to the family of Dr. Maya Angelou as an expression of | 21 | | our deepest sympathy.
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