Full Text of SR0801 103rd General Assembly
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION | 2 | | WHEREAS, The 7th Senate District is one of the most | 3 | | ethnically diverse districts in the State of Illinois; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The district has long been and increasingly is | 5 | | home to Black people from every corner of the vast and | 6 | | beautiful Black diaspora; and | 7 | | WHEREAS, The Black and African-American communities of the | 8 | | district have a rich history of achievements, culture, | 9 | | activism, and countless other contributions to the vibrancy | 10 | | and uniqueness of the district; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Graceland Cemetery, located in the district in | 12 | | Lakeview, is the permanent resting place for 29 leaders of the | 13 | | Underground Railroad network that helped many thousands of | 14 | | enslaved African-American people find freedom; and | 15 | | WHEREAS, Uptown was one of the first places | 16 | | African-Americans could live on the north side outside the | 17 | | Black Belt, despite experiencing intense racism and | 18 | | discrimination once they moved there; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, The family of Sen. Mike Simmons, who represents | 20 | | the 7th District, was one of the first Black families to move |
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| 1 | | into and integrate the Lincoln Square neighborhood just two | 2 | | years before he was born there in the early 1980s; and | 3 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Simmons, who is of Ethiopian and | 4 | | African-American descent, is proud to have grown up in one of | 5 | | the very first scattered-site public housing apartment | 6 | | buildings built on the north side of Chicago in Lincoln Square | 7 | | in 1981; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, Sen. Simmons is the first Black person to | 9 | | represent the far north side of Chicago's 7th District in the | 10 | | Illinois State Senate; and | 11 | | WHEREAS, Black elders currently residing in the 7th | 12 | | District as longtime residents were some of the first Black | 13 | | people decades ago to move into communities such as Buena | 14 | | Park, Rogers Park, Lincoln Square, Andersonville, Budlong | 15 | | Woods, Uptown, Edgewater, Lakeview, West Ridge, and other | 16 | | areas of the district; and | 17 | | WHEREAS, Black elders have left a rich legacy in the | 18 | | district by creating safe spaces and being role models for | 19 | | youth of all races and ethnicities; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The Black Panther Party established a legacy of | 21 | | mutual aid and humanity across racial lines, which continues |
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| 1 | | to shape the community-led mutual aid efforts in Uptown, on | 2 | | Argyle Street, in Rogers Park, along the Winthrop and Kenmore | 3 | | corridors, and in other 7th District areas; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The 7th District is home to the historic Winthrop | 5 | | Family Garden, which honors the legacy of African-American | 6 | | families who made the historic move during the Great Migration | 7 | | and began building a Black residential community along the | 8 | | 4600 North block of Winthrop Avenue as early as the year 1910; | 9 | | and | 10 | | WHEREAS, Winthrop Avenue was the only block on which Black | 11 | | families could live because of segregation, with scores of | 12 | | racial covenants hindering them from moving onto other blocks | 13 | | in Uptown; with only 18 families living on 4600 North Winthrop | 14 | | Avenue, they formed a community that supported each other and | 15 | | became one family despite the restrictive covenants intended | 16 | | to keep Uptown segregated; the Winthrop Family Garden stands | 17 | | as a place of remembrance and celebrates what it took to make | 18 | | Uptown what it is today; and | 19 | | WHEREAS, Many Black residents, including whole villages | 20 | | and communities, have been displaced from the far north side | 21 | | over the decades, including from parts of neighborhoods within | 22 | | the 7th District; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Those same Black residents left their mark on | 2 | | nearly every neighborhood in the north lake front district; | 3 | | and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The future of the 7th District is as bright as the | 5 | | past, as Black people continue to run small businesses of | 6 | | every type, continue to graduate from schools, and assume | 7 | | leadership roles in their communities, in the region, and in | 8 | | our state in every imaginable way; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, Uptown features small businesses from West and | 10 | | Central Africa, such as Osas African Kitchen, the Nigerian | 11 | | Kitchen Restaurant, the Mukase African Restaurant, the Makola | 12 | | African Supermarket, Amen African Braiding, the Iyanze Bar & | 13 | | Cafe, The Good Shepherd Enterprise, B&Q Afro Root Cuisine, the | 14 | | Queen African Hair Braiding Salon, and Chem's African Hair | 15 | | Braiding, among others; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Edgewater, Uptown, and Rogers Park are home to an | 17 | | extensive Eritrean and Ethiopian population spread along | 18 | | Broadway and Clark Street with family-run businesses such as | 19 | | the Axum Ethiopian Restaurant, the Ethiopian Diamond, the | 20 | | Awash Ethiopian Restaurant, Tesfa Ethiopian Cuisine, the Selam | 21 | | Ethiopian Kitchen, Queen Sheba, the Ethio Mart, the Mella | 22 | | Cafe, the Demera Restaurant, the Kukulu Market, the Ethio | 23 | | Mart, the Denden Restaurant, and Meron Injera; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Howard Avenue in Rogers Park is home to many | 2 | | Black-owned Caribbean small businesses, such as the Kizin | 3 | | Creole Restaurant, Caribbean Cuts, the Good To Go Restaurant, | 4 | | the Caribbean American Baking Co., and Ashley Beauty Supply; | 5 | | and | 6 | | WHEREAS, The 7th District is home to many Black Americans | 7 | | and African-Americans and is comprised of a glorious multitude | 8 | | of ethnic groups from all over Africa, including those from | 9 | | Ghana, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, Senegal, Mali, | 10 | | Togo, Congo, Cameroon, Sudan, the Caribbean, and South | 11 | | America, many of whom found refuge along Broadway and Sheridan | 12 | | in Uptown and along Howard Avenue in Rogers Park and built a | 13 | | community; and | 14 | | WHEREAS, The Bryn Mawr Historic District in Edgewater is | 15 | | home to a growing number of new African-American and Black and | 16 | | LGBTQ+-owned small businesses that bring vibrancy to this | 17 | | historic corridor; and | 18 | | WHEREAS, Ebony DeBerry, a Black woman and lifelong | 19 | | resident of Rogers Park, wanted to build a community of people | 20 | | who lifted each other and gave back to the community she had | 21 | | growing up; she helped develop ONE Northside, which is a mixed | 22 | | income, multi-ethnic, intergenerational community-based |
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| 1 | | organization that brings together the diverse communities of | 2 | | Chicago's far north side and uses collective power to address | 3 | | injustice and advance the community's interests; she has | 4 | | created safe spaces for women of color to come together, share | 5 | | resources, and encourage each other; and | 6 | | WHEREAS, Jackie Taylor, a Black woman and longtime | 7 | | resident of Uptown, founded the Black Ensemble Theater in | 8 | | 1976, which is the first cultural center in the nation | 9 | | dedicated to eradicating racism through the arts; the Black | 10 | | Ensemble Theater is a crown jewel of the 7th District, | 11 | | bringing together not only Black residents but people from all | 12 | | racial and ethnic backgrounds to celebrate through free | 13 | | outdoor concerts for the community on the 4400 block of North | 14 | | Clark Street, unique plays, and other programming that | 15 | | celebrates the arts in the district; and | 16 | | WHEREAS, Dr. Ana Vicky Castillo, an advocate for the | 17 | | education of the Latin and African diaspora, created the Afro | 18 | | Latino Historical Society and the African Diaspora Museum; she | 19 | | has worked tirelessly to reclaim the legacy of the forgotten | 20 | | history of the African-American and Latin community; she has | 21 | | helped inform the public of the great achievements of the | 22 | | Afro-Latino and African immigrant communities; therefore, be | 23 | | it |
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| 1 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL | 2 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize the Black | 3 | | and African-American communities of the 7th Senate District | 4 | | and express our deep appreciation and respect for the myriad | 5 | | of Black communities that currently reside in and have lived | 6 | | in the 7th District; and be it further | 7 | | RESOLVED, That we celebrate the history, achievements, | 8 | | culture, activism, and countless other contributions that | 9 | | Black people from a vast and beautiful diaspora have made to | 10 | | the 7th Senate District of Illinois on the far north side of | 11 | | Chicago. |
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