HR0684 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0684 LRB102 26439 LAW 36802 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, People of Caribbean heritage are found in every state across the country; and

WHEREAS, During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a significant number of Africans who had been held in the Caribbean region were brought to the United States and enslaved; and

WHEREAS, During those same centuries, some native people from the United States were deported to the Caribbean; and

WHEREAS, The countries of the Caribbean, much like the United States, faced obstacles of slavery and colonialism and struggled for independence; and

WHEREAS, The people of the Caribbean region, also similar to the United States, have diverse racial, cultural, and religious backgrounds; and

WHEREAS, During the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, Caribbean immigrants have faced economic crises in their countries and so have chosen to come to the United States for better economic and educational opportunities; and

WHEREAS, Caribbean Americans have become leaders in every sector of the country while maintaining the varied traditions of their countries of origin; and

WHEREAS, Vice President Kamala Harris, the first female vice president of the United States, is of Jamaican heritage; and

WHEREAS, Colin Powell, the first African-American Secretary of State who additionally served as the United States National Security Advisor and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, was of Jamaican heritage; and

WHEREAS, Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay, the writer and poet who became a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance, was born in Jamaica; and

WHEREAS, James Weldon Johnson, Harlem Renaissance poet and author of the Black national anthem "Lift Every Voice and Sing", was of Bahamian and Haitian heritage; and

WHEREAS, Celia Cruz, the late famous Salsa singer, was born in Cuba; and

WHEREAS, Midwin Charles, a former attorney and legal analyst for CNN and MSNBC, was of Haitian heritage; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith, the chair of the Health Equity Task Force under the Biden administration, hails from St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and

WHEREAS, Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to receive the Academy Award for Best Actor, was of Bahamian heritage; and

WHEREAS, Shirley Chisholm, the first Black congresswoman and the first Black woman to run for president, was of Barbadian and Guyanese heritage; and

WHEREAS, Carlos Juan Finlay, the epidemiologist who discovered that Yellow Fever was transmitted by the Stegomyia aegypti mosquito, was Cuban; and

WHEREAS, Oscar de la Renta, the late fashion designer, was born in the Dominican Republic; and

WHEREAS, Malcolm X, the late Nation of Islam spokesman, was of Grenadian heritage; and

WHEREAS, Jean Baptiste Point du Sable, the Black pioneer and recognized founder of Chicago, was born in Haiti; and

WHEREAS, Harry Belafonte, the Calypso singer and civil rights activist, is of Jamaican and Martinican heritage; and

WHEREAS, Marcus Garvey, the Black nationalist movement leader, was born in Jamaica; and

WHEREAS, John Russwurm, the first Black editor of a U.S. newspaper and the third African-American to graduate from a U.S. college, was born in Jamaica; and

WHEREAS, Dr. Antonia Novello, the first female U.S. Surgeon General, hails from Puerto Rico; and

WHEREAS, Constance Baker Motley, the first Black woman appointed to the federal bench, was of Nevisian heritage; and

WHEREAS, Alexander Hamilton, first Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, was born on Nevis; and

WHEREAS, Louis Farrakhan, the Nation of Islam leader, is of Kittitians and Jamaican heritage; and

WHEREAS, Stokley Carmichael, the late Black Power activist, was born in Trinidad; and

WHEREAS, Kelsey Grammer, the Emmy-winning actor of the sitcom Frasier, hails from St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands; and

WHEREAS, Dr. William Thornton, the British-American physician and architect who designed the U.S. Capitol, was born on Jost van Dyke of the British Virgin Islands; and

WHEREAS, A number of Caribbean-American leaders are based in Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Marie Lynn Toussaint, the Cook County Assistant Public Defender and chairperson of the Haitian Congress to Fortify Haiti, is of Haitian heritage; and

WHEREAS, Cesar Rolon, a leader of the community organization Illinois Unidos, which addresses COVID-19 in Latin communities, is of Puerto Rican heritage; and

WHEREAS, Rafael Nunez-Cedeno, the founder and president of the Dominican American Midwest Association, is of Dominican heritage; and

WHEREAS, Anton and Anthony Downing, Chicago firefighters and house flippers, are of Bahamian heritage; and

WHEREAS, Caribbean Americans have contributed greatly to education, the fine arts, business, literature, journalism, sports, fashion, politics, the government, the military, music, science, technology, and other areas in the United States; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we declare the month of June 2022 as Caribbean-American Heritage Month in the State of Illinois; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to Governor JB Pritzker, House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, Senate President Don Harmon, House Minority Leader Jim Durkin, and Senate Minority Leader Dan McConchie.