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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The faculty, staff,
students, parents, and alumni | ||||||
3 | of Wendell Phillips High School, the oldest African-American | ||||||
4 | high school in Chicago, are celebrating the school's 100th | ||||||
5 | anniversary in 2004; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Wendell Phillips High School, which opened on | ||||||
7 | September 5, 1904, received its name from the great | ||||||
8 | abolitionist who openly criticized Abraham Lincoln for | ||||||
9 | delaying the emancipation of slaves; born in 1811, Wendell | ||||||
10 | Phillips spent nearly fifty years of his life championing the | ||||||
11 | fight against slavery, the ill-treatment of Native Americans, | ||||||
12 | equal pay and wages for women, and better working conditions | ||||||
13 | for all employed persons; and
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14 | WHEREAS, As a culmination of the Diamond Jubilee | ||||||
15 | celebration of 1979, Mr. Raymond McCants, Sr. led a committee | ||||||
16 | to dedicate and designate the school's main corridor as the | ||||||
17 | Hall of Fame; the photographs of many role models appear in the | ||||||
18 | Wendell Phillips Hall of Fame, including: Nettie Hayden | ||||||
19 | Baldwin; Alderman William Barnett; Timuel D. Black, Jr., | ||||||
20 | educator, historian, and noted author; Honorable Archibald | ||||||
21 | Carey, Jr.; Nat "King" Cole; Sam Cooke; Thomas A. Dorsey, | ||||||
22 | musical composer of the famous spiritual, "Precious Lord"; The | ||||||
23 | Duster Family, descendants of Ida B. Wells; Alderman Wilson | ||||||
24 | Frost; Marla "Florence" Gibbs; George Johnson; John H. Johnson; | ||||||
25 | David W. Kellum, long known as "Bud Billiken" who served as | ||||||
26 | head cheerleader for all teams; Annie Lee, noted artist; Dr. | ||||||
27 | Loretta Hall Martin, former student, teacher, and current Hall | ||||||
28 | of Fame Chairperson; James D. Montgomery, Sr.; boxing champion, | ||||||
29 | Lee Roy Murphy; Silas Parnell, who for many years assisted | ||||||
30 | generations of students in obtaining scholarships to colleges | ||||||
31 | around the country; Dr. Annabelle Carey Prescott, former | ||||||
32 | student and teacher at Phillips; Honorable Albert S. Porter; | ||||||
33 | Roebuck "Pop" Staples; Dinah Washington; Dr. Irvin B. Watkins; |
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1 | and Claude "Buddy" Young; and
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2 | WHEREAS, Mrs. Maudell Brown Bousfield simultaneously | ||||||
3 | became Chicago's first African-American public school | ||||||
4 | principal and served as principal of Wendell Phillips from 1939 | ||||||
5 | to 1950; and | ||||||
6 | WHEREAS, The school's championship basketball team was | ||||||
7 | drafted by Mr. Abe Saperstein to form the "original" nucleus of | ||||||
8 | the world renowned Harlem Globetrotters; and | ||||||
9 | WHEREAS, Major repairs and improvements to the school began | ||||||
10 | in the middle and late 1990s; the administration, community | ||||||
11 | leaders, parents, and political representatives all worked | ||||||
12 | together to lobby for major repairs and, as a result, major | ||||||
13 | external repairs and improvements were completed; a | ||||||
14 | Phillips-Mayo campus project added green space and additional | ||||||
15 | sports facilities; and | ||||||
16 | WHEREAS, The school received landmark status on May 7, | ||||||
17 | 2003, from Chicago's City Council; and | ||||||
18 | WHEREAS, The Wendell Phillips High School Committee was | ||||||
19 | formed in December of 2003 to plan and execute a centennial | ||||||
20 | celebration to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the school | ||||||
21 | and affirmed its commitment to: development of an endowment | ||||||
22 | fund to support students in achieving academic excellence and | ||||||
23 | scholarships; preservation of the cultural artifacts and oral | ||||||
24 | and written history of the school; establishment of a | ||||||
25 | tutoring/mentoring core comprised of Phillipsites and others; | ||||||
26 | retention of the school as a viable educational institution; | ||||||
27 | and supporting community based school activities; and | ||||||
28 | WHEREAS, The present administration and community leaders | ||||||
29 | have worked diligently to update computer facilities, improve | ||||||
30 | the library, and provide Internet access to the students; more |
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1 | improvements are in the planning stage; Wendell Phillips High | ||||||
2 | School (designated Wendell Phillips Academy High School | ||||||
3 | effective the 1997-98 school year) is striding into the new | ||||||
4 | millennium to meet the needs of its students; therefore, be it
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5 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | ||||||
6 | NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | ||||||
7 | hereby commemorate Wendell Phillips High School's 100th | ||||||
8 | anniversary, we recognize the school's many contributions to | ||||||
9 | the education and development of the children of Chicago, and | ||||||
10 | we extend to all those connected with the school our sincere | ||||||
11 | best wishes for continued success in the years to come; and be | ||||||
12 | it further
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13 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
14 | presented to Wendell Phillips High School and the Wendell | ||||||
15 | Phillips High School Centennial Committee as an expression of | ||||||
16 | our esteem.
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