HR1556 95TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1556 LRB095 22680 GRL 53096 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives are pleased to congratulate Timuel D. Black, Jr. on the occasion of being the recipient of the Legacy Award from the Black United Fund of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Timuel D. Black, Jr. was born in Birmingham, Alabama; he moved to Chicago as a child and has lived there since; he earned his bachelor's degree from Roosevelt University and his master's degree from the University of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, As a child, Timuel D. Black, Jr. was influenced by the orators of the Washington Park Forum, such as Claude Lightfoot and Ismael Flory, who spoke out against gouging landlords and discrimination, making demands for jobs and decent living conditions, and calling workers to unite and stand up for their rights; after graduating, his first job as an under-paid store clerk gave him his first experience with labor union organizing, when he and his co-workers formed a local chapter of the Retail Clerks Union; and

WHEREAS, Before having a chance to pursue further education, Timuel D. Black, Jr. was drafted into the United States Army during World War II; after enduring discrimination from the Army and witnessing the vast human devastation at the Buchenwald extermination camp, he resolved to dedicate his life to work for peace and justice; one of the achievements he is most proud of is the work he performed with the Progressive Party to end discrimination in the United States Armed Forces; and

WHEREAS, Timuel D. Black, Jr. served as a case worker with the Chicago Department of Welfare's Children's Division from 1952 until 1954 and worked in various community houses throughout Gary, Indiana and Chicago, often integrating groups at social and educational levels; he also served as Vice President of the Board of Local Improvements for the City of Chicago's Department of Public Works; and

WHEREAS, After returned from his service in the Army, Timuel D. Black, Jr. continued his education and became a teacher, teaching history and social studies at DuSable, Dunbar, Roosevelt, Farragut, and Hyde Park High Schools for over 40 years; as Assistant Coordinator of the National Teacher Corps, he was responsible for the recruitment and training of teachers who would work in neighborhood schools most in need of quality teachers; fighting discrimination in the Chicago school system, he joined with other teachers in the formation of the Teachers Committee for Quality Education to ensure that good schools were available to all children; and

WHEREAS, In addition to his work in the Chicago school system, Timuel D. Black, Jr. also served as Dean at Wright Junior College, Vice President of Olive Harvey City College, Director of Community Affairs of the City Colleges of Chicago, and Professor of anthropology, cultural anthropology, sociology, and history at Harold Washington College; and

WHEREAS, Timuel D. Black, Jr. is a prominent civil rights activist and a noted historian; he is well known as a pioneer in the independent black political movement and coined the phrase "plantation politics"; he has spent much of his life furthering the cause of social justice; he helped to organize and served in the Chicago chapter of the Congress of Racial Equality; he served as president of the local chapter of the Negro American Labor Council, where he was chosen to organize the Chicago contingent of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom; he also worked on the campaigns of Richard Hatcher, the first black mayor of Gary, Indiana, and Harold Washington, the first black mayor of Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Timuel D. Black, Jr. is the author of Bridges of Memory, an unprecedented collection of more than 150 interviews that document the great wave of African-American migration to Chicago; and

WHEREAS, Timuel D. Black, Jr.'s dedication to his profession and his willingness to serve his community make him a model for the people of the State of Illinois; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate Timuel D. Black, Jr. on the occasion of being the recipient of the Legacy Award from the Black United Fund of Illinois and wish him continued success and happiness in the future; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Timuel D. Black, Jr. as a symbol of our esteem and respect.