Full Text of SR0306 103rd General Assembly
SR0306 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois Senate are saddened | 3 | | to learn of the death of Annie Katherine (Griffin) Betts; and
| 4 | | WHEREAS, Annie Betts was born to Irene Spruill Griffin and | 5 | | Tom Griffin in Macon, Mississippi on September 27, 1948; she | 6 | | was raised in Macon and was a member of St. Mark CME Church; | 7 | | she attended Liddell Middle School and graduated from Liddell | 8 | | High School in 1966, where she was a member of the Drama Club, | 9 | | crowned homecoming queen of the Carnation Ball, and was an | 10 | | advocate for Black students seeking to host a parade, a first | 11 | | for the school; she earned her Bachelor of Science in | 12 | | Elementary Education from Rust College, a historically Black | 13 | | college in Holly Springs, Mississippi, where she joined the | 14 | | Iota Gamma Chapter of the Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. and was | 15 | | crowned Miss Phi Beta Sigma during the Rust College Miss Phi | 16 | | Beta Sigma Scholarship Pageant in 1969; she married Sammy | 17 | | Betts at Grant Memorial AME Church in Chicago on August 17, | 18 | | 1969, and they moved to Chicago in 1970; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Annie Betts was a respected and valued third and | 20 | | fourth grade teacher at Emerson Elementary School in Maywood, | 21 | | starting in 1970; during her tenure, she earned her master's | 22 | | degree in reading from Roosevelt University in Chicago in | 23 | | 1985; over the course of her career, she was noted for serving |
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| 1 | | her students above and beyond, becoming family in the process; | 2 | | while working at Emerson, she developed and managed three | 3 | | organizations, the liturgical dance group Sunshine System, the | 4 | | competitive dance troupe The Smart Girls, and the singing | 5 | | group Vision, which performed at the Apollo Theater in New | 6 | | York; she also instituted the Miss and Mr. Emerson Pageant and | 7 | | was the head of the Emerson Drama Club and Emerson Speech Club; | 8 | | and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Annie Betts became a trailblazing educator at | 10 | | Emerson Elementary School, risking her position to fight for a | 11 | | Black history program at the school, which was successful; she | 12 | | became a consultant for Black history programs and | 13 | | performances at various schools and events; she additionally | 14 | | acted as a performance consultant for her sister Mary Jean's | 15 | | students at Metropolitan Primary Academy in Chicago; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, After retiring from Emerson Elementary School in | 17 | | 2004, Annie Betts became the director of Tutorial | 18 | | Curriculum/Program at Neighborhood United Methodist Church in | 19 | | Maywood from 2008 to 2014; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Annie Betts gave her time to several | 21 | | organizations; she served Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. for 55 | 22 | | years; she joined Daughters of Honor 622 of the Improved | 23 | | Benevolent Protective Order of Elks of the World in 1981, |
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| 1 | | receiving the Past State President's Degree in Peoria in 1982 | 2 | | and the Past Grand Daughter Rulers Honors, the organization's | 3 | | highest honor, in Miami, Florida in 1983; she was given the | 4 | | distinguished honor of being appointed Grand District Deputy | 5 | | over several temples in the State of Illinois in 1990; she | 6 | | became a member of Heliotrope Temple #29 in 2005, where she was | 7 | | a member until it regretfully folded, before joining Mary | 8 | | McLeod Bethune Temple #1183, remaining a member until her | 9 | | passing; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, Annie Betts continued to play an active part in | 11 | | Black history, from her days at Liddell High School to riding a | 12 | | bus from Chicago to Washington, D.C. to witness the | 13 | | inauguration of the first Black president of the United | 14 | | States, Barack Obama; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, Annie Betts was an unforgettable and proud Black | 16 | | woman known for her loving soul, her willingness to do | 17 | | anything for those she held dear, and her devotion to her | 18 | | family; she will be remembered for her service as a champion to | 19 | | and for her people; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, Annie Betts was the wife of Sammy for 54 years, | 21 | | the mother of Sana Sierra and Samuel Rilan, and the | 22 | | grandmother of Kyla and Addison; therefore, be 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 mourn the passing of | 3 | | Annie Katherine (Griffin) Betts and extend our sincere | 4 | | condolences to her family, friends, and all who knew and loved | 5 | | her; and be it further
| 6 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 7 | | presented to the family of Annie Betts as an expression of our | 8 | | deepest sympathy.
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