Full Text of HR0471 94th General Assembly
HR0471 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The Chicago Defender, one of the nation's most | 3 |
| influential Black newspapers, celebrated its 100th anniversary | 4 |
| on May 5, 2005; and
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| WHEREAS, The Defender kicked off a year-long celebration | 6 |
| that will feature a variety of public events, as well as 10 | 7 |
| special centennial news editions; and
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| WHEREAS, The idea to launch the Black newspaper in Chicago | 9 |
| first began in August of 1893, when Robert S. Abbott came to | 10 |
| the Columbian Exposition in Chicago to perform spirituals with | 11 |
| his Hampton college choir, and was mesmerized by the words of | 12 |
| Frederick Douglas, who spoke thunderously about the | 13 |
| contributions of Negroes in America; and
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| WHEREAS, After finishing college, he launched the Chicago | 15 |
| Defender, printing the paper in his landlady's second story | 16 |
| apartment; by 1910, Mr. Abbott had a viable business and hired | 17 |
| his first employee; within a decade, the Defender was | 18 |
| outselling all other Black papers; the Defender was the first | 19 |
| Black newspaper to have a circulation over 100,000, the first | 20 |
| to have a health column, and the first to have a full page of | 21 |
| comic strips; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1940, upon Robert Abbott's death, John H. H. | 23 |
| Sengstacke, his nephew and heir, became the publisher and | 24 |
| editor of the newspaper; in 1956, the Defender began publishing | 25 |
| on a daily basis; four years before his death, John Sengstacke | 26 |
| stepped down as publisher and turned the reins over to his | 27 |
| brother, Frederick D. Sengstacke, who served as publisher until | 28 |
| 2000, when Colonel Eugene Scott, U.S. Army (ret.), assumed the | 29 |
| role; and
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| WHEREAS, Mr. Abbott and Mr. Sengstacke were both very |
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| politically influential men; Mr. Sengstacke was responsible | 2 |
| for helping Mayor Daley get elected, as well as integrating the | 3 |
| school board and fire and police departments in Chicago; he | 4 |
| also worked to have Branch Rickey integrate major league | 5 |
| baseball and to place the first Black federal judge on the | 6 |
| bench since Reconstruction; and
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| WHEREAS, In 2003, Real Times, Inc., led by Thomas Picou, | 8 |
| chairman of the board, purchased the chain of newspapers which | 9 |
| included the Chicago Defender; Real Times is the nation's | 10 |
| largest African American owned and operated newspaper chain in | 11 |
| the country; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 13 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 14 |
| we congratulate the Chicago Defender on the occasion of its | 15 |
| 100th anniversary; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 17 |
| presented to the Chicago Defender as an expression of our | 18 |
| esteem and best wishes for the future.
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