Full Text of SR0557 99th General Assembly
SR0557 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, On May 17, 1954, the United States Supreme Court | 3 | | issued the landmark ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of | 4 | | Topeka, Kansas, declaring unconstitutional any and all laws | 5 | | that established or maintained segregation in schools; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, In 1957, in response to the ruling, 9 | 7 | | African-American students, working with the National | 8 | | Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), | 9 | | registered to attend Little Rock Central High School; dubbed | 10 | | "The Little Rock Nine", they were denied entry to the school by | 11 | | Arkansas Governor Orval Faubus, who ordered the Arkansas | 12 | | National Guard deployed to deny the students access; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, The Little Rock Nine were escorted into the school | 14 | | by the United States Army's 101st Airborne Division as ordered | 15 | | by President Dwight D. Eisenhower; the students encountered | 16 | | abuse and persecution at the hands of whites, but, in the end, | 17 | | enforced their civil rights by taking a stand for justice and | 18 | | equality; they have gone on to live lives dedicated to the | 19 | | proposition that racist ideology will not dictate educational | 20 | | policies and practices now or in the future; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The Little Rock Nine are: Dr. Melba Pattillo | 22 | | Beals, Elizabeth Eckford, Gloria Ray Karlmark, Ernest Green, |
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| 1 | | Carlotta Walls LaNier, Dr. Terrence J. Roberts, Jefferson | 2 | | Thomas, Minnijean Brown Trickey, and Thelma Mothershed Wair; | 3 | | together they support The Little Rock Nine Foundation, which | 4 | | advances the ideals of justice and equal opportunity for all; | 5 | | and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The many honors received by The Little Rock Nine | 7 | | include the NAACP's Spingarn Medal (1957), The Congressional | 8 | | Gold Medal of Honor (1999), a commemorative United States | 9 | | postage stamp (2005), and a commemorative 50th anniversary | 10 | | one-dollar coin issued by the U.S. Mint (2007); and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library | 12 | | Foundation has named The Little Rock Nine as its 2015 Lincoln | 13 | | Leadership Prize Recipients; therefore, be it
| 14 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE NINETY-NINTH GENERAL | 15 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we recognize The Little | 16 | | Rock Nine and the dedication they have shown to the advancement | 17 | | of civil rights; and be it further | 18 | | RESOLVED, That we declare May 19, 2015 as The Little Rock | 19 | | Nine Day; and be it further
| 20 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 | | presented to The Little Rock Nine as an expression of our |
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| 1 | | esteem and respect.
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