Full Text of HR0782 101st General Assembly
HR0782 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Black History Month is an annual celebration which | 3 | | recognizes that, beginning with the Emancipation Proclamation | 4 | | and continuing with the Civil Rights Movement, African | 5 | | Americans have made great strides and advancements toward | 6 | | equality; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The precursor to Black History Month was "Negro | 8 | | History Week" and was started in 1926 by historian and | 9 | | University of Chicago alumnus Carter G. Woodson and the | 10 | | Association for the Study of Negro Life and History; the second | 11 | | week of February was chosen because it marked the birthdays of | 12 | | President Abraham Lincoln and abolitionist Frederick Douglas; | 13 | | primary emphasis was placed on encouraging the coordinated | 14 | | teaching of the history of African Americans in the nation's | 15 | | public schools; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1970, Black History Week was expanded into | 17 | | Black History Month, with the first celebration taking place at | 18 | | Kent State University; as part of the 1976 United States | 19 | | Bicentennial, Black History Month was officially recognized by | 20 | | President Gerald Ford and the U.S. government; and | 21 | | WHEREAS, Even with the numerous positive advancements made | 22 | | by African Americans since the Emancipation Proclamation that |
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| 1 | | are documented during Black History Month, many communities | 2 | | still suffer from unacceptable conditions such as | 3 | | unemployment, poverty, mortgage foreclosures, deficiencies in | 4 | | public health services, and crime; and | 5 | | WHEREAS, These economic and societal challenges created or
| 6 | | exacerbated many conditions, including inequalities in access | 7 | | to
justice in the civil court system, an overburdened and | 8 | | ineffective criminal justice system, overcrowding conditions
| 9 | | in correctional facilities, increased homelessness, increases
| 10 | | in teen pregnancy, inadequate educational opportunities, a
| 11 | | lack of affordable housing, insufficient delivery of social
| 12 | | services to the less fortunate, and deficiencies in the
| 13 | | delivery of public health services; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Black leaders in Illinois are not alone in
| 15 | | recognizing that these broad social problems often strike the
| 16 | | hardest in the black community; it is painful for black leaders | 17 | | to ponder the
stories of human struggle, despair, and hurt that | 18 | | all too often
over shadow the stories of success and hope; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, State government resources are expended in
| 20 | | ever-increasing amounts to address these social and economic
| 21 | | problems, and those expenditures are a significant drain on the
| 22 | | State's road to financial stability; therefore, be it
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 2 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 3 | | we celebrate Black History Month and recognize how far African | 4 | | Americans have come; and be it further
| 5 | | RESOLVED, That we acknowledge the continuing struggles of | 6 | | those within the African American communities of the State and | 7 | | the country and encourage Governor Pritzker to address the | 8 | | ongoing issues affecting those communities; and be it
further
| 9 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 10 | | delivered
to Governor Pritzker.
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