Full Text of HR1231 100th General Assembly
HR1231 100TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, In 1867, the University of Illinois at | 3 | | Urbana-Champaign was founded as a land-grant
institution; it | 4 | | became a beacon of education and knowledge for the community,
| 5 | | state, country, and world; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In the wake of the Civil War and the assassination | 7 | | of President Abraham
Lincoln, the promise of unqualified access | 8 | | to the new university by Illinois citizens of all races
| 9 | | remained a long-deferred dream for African American citizens; | 10 | | and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, Across the ensuing years, when the University of | 12 | | Illinois admitted African
Americans they were not fully | 13 | | welcomed to the campus; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Following the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin | 15 | | Luther King Jr. in 1968, African American
students and | 16 | | community residents redoubled their commitment to the battle | 17 | | for civil rights, and they
pushed the University of Illinois to | 18 | | significantly and rapidly increase the enrollment of African | 19 | | American students; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, In 1968, through the groundbreaking Special | 21 | | Educational Opportunities Program (Project
500), 565 newly |
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| 1 | | admitted African Americans joined the student body and earned a | 2 | | singular place in the
history of the University of Illinois; | 3 | | and | 4 | | WHEREAS, The local African American community and church | 5 | | congregations opened their doors and
their hearts just as | 6 | | quickly and warmly to these new students as they had done for | 7 | | all like them
who had come to the University of Illinois in the | 8 | | preceding decades; and | 9 | | WHEREAS, These community members and organizations | 10 | | throughout the cities of Champaign and
Urbana deserve special | 11 | | recognition for their unwavering support of Project 500 | 12 | | students in their
academic endeavors and in their lives beyond | 13 | | the classroom; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Today, as we celebrate 50 years of work in the | 15 | | struggle for racial justice, progress, learning, and
| 16 | | achievement that was bolstered by Project 500, the cities of | 17 | | Urbana and Champaign publicly have renewed their
commitment to | 18 | | fostering communities that welcome and support all who come | 19 | | there to live and learn; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, The Project 500 alumni, through their words and | 21 | | deeds, have fundamentally and forever changed
the University of | 22 | | Illinois and the cities of Urbana and Champaign for the |
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| 1 | | betterment of all of us; therefore, be it
| 2 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 3 | | HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 4 | | declare
September 28, 2018 as Project 500 Day in the State of | 5 | | Illinois; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 | | presented to Project 500 as a symbol of our respect and esteem.
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