Full Text of HR0663 99th General Assembly
HR0663 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the owners of the Chicago | 4 | | Defender on the occasion of the newspaper's 110th anniversary | 5 | | in 2015; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The Chicago Defender is a Chicago-based weekly | 7 | | newspaper that was founded in 1905 by Robert S. Abbott for | 8 | | primarily African American readers; the Chicago Defender has | 9 | | attracted the writing talents of many famous writers, including | 10 | | Langston Hughes, Gwendolyn Brooks, and Willard Motley; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Robert Sengstacke Abbott, editor and founder of | 12 | | the Chicago Defender, played a major role in influencing the | 13 | | Great Migration of African Americans from the rural South to | 14 | | the urban North by means of strong, moralistic rhetoric in his | 15 | | newspaper's editorials and political cartoons, the promotion | 16 | | of Chicago as a destination, and the advertisement of | 17 | | successful African American individuals as inspiration for | 18 | | blacks in the South; the Defender consistently published | 19 | | articles describing lynchings in the south with vivid | 20 | | descriptions and unrestrained blame of the mobs of whites | 21 | | typically involved, forcing readers to accept that these crimes | 22 | | were "systematic and unremitting"; the art in the Defender, | 23 | | particularly its political cartoons, explicitly addressed race |
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| 1 | | issues and advocated northern migration of African Americans; | 2 | | the Defender was also used to initiate and advertise a "Great | 3 | | Northern Drive" day, set for May 15, 1917; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, In 1923, Robert Sengstacke Abbott and editor | 5 | | Lucius Harper created the Bud Billiken Club and later organized | 6 | | parades to promote healthy activity among black children in | 7 | | Chicago; in 1929, the organization began the Bud Billiken | 8 | | Parade and Picnic, which is still held annually in Chicago; in | 9 | | the 1950s, under Sengstacke's direction, the Bud Billiken | 10 | | Parade expanded and emerged as the largest single event in | 11 | | Chicago; today, the event attracts more than one million | 12 | | attendees and more than 25 million television viewers, making | 13 | | it one of the largest parades in the country; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Robert Sengstacke Abbott's nephew, John H. | 15 | | Sengstacke, took over the Defender in 1940; in 1948, he | 16 | | encouraged President Harry S. Truman to integrate the armed | 17 | | services, which President Truman did soon after; he also served | 18 | | as a member of Truman's appointed committee to assure that the | 19 | | military implemented this plan; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, John Sengstacke brought together for the first | 21 | | time major black newspaper publishers and created the National | 22 | | Negro Publishers Association, later renamed the National | 23 | | Newspaper Publishers Association; today, the Association |
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| 1 | | consists of over 200 member black newspapers; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Under John Sengstacke's leadership, the Defender | 3 | | became a daily newspaper on February 6, 1956 and changed its | 4 | | name to the Chicago Daily Defender, becoming the nation's | 5 | | second black daily newspaper; it published as a daily until | 6 | | 2003; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In January of 2003, control of the Chicago | 8 | | Defender and her sister publications was transferred to Real | 9 | | Times, Inc., which was organized and led by Thom Picou and | 10 | | Robert (Bobby) Sengstacke, John H. Sengstacke's son; today, the | 11 | | paper continues to serve as a world-class source of local, | 12 | | State, and national news; therefore, be it
| 13 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 14 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 15 | | congratulate the owners of the Chicago Defender on the occasion | 16 | | of the newspaper's 110th anniversary and wish them continued | 17 | | success and happiness in the future; and be it further
| 18 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 19 | | presented to the Chicago Defender as a symbol of our esteem and | 20 | | respect.
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