Full Text of HR0893 101st General Assembly
HR0893 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, African American communities have demonstrated a | 3 | | history of perseverance in the face of adversity, rising from | 4 | | chattel slavery to form thousands of successful businesses in | 5 | | the years after abolition; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, White supremacy manifested through individual and | 7 | | institutional racism has historically targeted Black Americans | 8 | | and Black businesses through government policy and | 9 | | extrajudicial means, resulting in stolen land, destroyed | 10 | | property, the loss of capital, and the loss of life, | 11 | | eliminating wealth building opportunities for Black | 12 | | businessmen and businesswomen and damaging the potential to | 13 | | pass wealth to future generations; and
| 14 | | WHEREAS, Black communities have continually responded to | 15 | | these setbacks with renewed vigor to fight not only for civil | 16 | | rights and political freedom but also economic empowerment, | 17 | | equity, and economic justice; and
| 18 | | WHEREAS, The spirit of entrepreneurship displayed by the | 19 | | freedmen and freedwomen in the wake of abolition has continued | 20 | | through African American communities today, leading to the | 21 | | existence of over two million Black-owned businesses in the | 22 | | United States; and |
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, The spirit of enterprise is demonstrated by | 2 | | African American business owners who create businesses to | 3 | | pursue their passions and manage their future, manifested | 4 | | through the two-thirds of African American-owned businesses | 5 | | operated by members of Generation X and millennials and the | 6 | | over one-third of African American-owned businesses operated | 7 | | by Black women, who are the fastest-growing segment of | 8 | | entrepreneurs in the United States; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Immense challenges still exist for African | 10 | | American entrepreneurs as they face a general lack of access to | 11 | | capital sources available to other groups, steering by | 12 | | financial institutions into less desirable capital sources, a | 13 | | nearly total lockout from venture capital, and unequal access | 14 | | to amounts of capital provided to other people in similar | 15 | | circumstances, and the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated | 16 | | challenges for Black-owned businesses; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, With the same spirit of enterprise and | 18 | | entrepreneurship demonstrated throughout African American | 19 | | history, Black businesses will recover and will thrive in a | 20 | | post-pandemic world; therefore, be it
| 21 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 22 | | HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that |
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| 1 | | we declare August 2020 as Black Business Month in the State of | 2 | | Illinois; and be it further
| 3 | | RESOLVED, That we are committed to providing equal | 4 | | opportunity for Black entrepreneurs and African American-owned | 5 | | businesses and to the elimination of business redlining | 6 | | targeting Black American entrepreneurs, and we will dedicate | 7 | | ourselves to developing and implementing laws and policies to | 8 | | achieve these goals.
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