HR0871 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0871 LRB102 27780 LAW 39578 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr. are true icons of the civil rights movement in McLean County; and

WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was born in Decatur on November 7, 1926; and

WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was drafted into the U.S. Navy in 1945, and he served until 1949; and

WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy moved with his brother to Bloomington in 1959, and he earned a position as a punch-press operator; and

WHEREAS, Inspired by the 1960 NAACP state convention held in Bloomington, Merlin Kennedy joined protesters at local stores to call for an end to segregated lunch counters; and

WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was elected president of the local NAACP chapter, spearheading the passage of the area's first fair housing ordinance in 1967 and co-founding the Human Relations Commissions in Bloomington and Normal; and

WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy will long be remembered for his best known act of civil defiance, participating in the 1966 Christmas Parade dressed as Santa Claus despite threats of arrest; his bold action earned him the nickname "Black Santa"; and

WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was the first chair of the Bloomington Human Relations Commission and the first recipient of the Normal Human Relations Commission's Martin Luther King Jr. Award; he was awarded the NAACP's Roy Wilkins Award in 1999 for his efforts to fight racism; and

WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy was named a McLean County History Maker in 2015; and

WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. was born near Shreveport, Louisiana on August 5, 1924; and

WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. was a child of sharecroppers, and he began his work life picking cotton in Arkansas at age nine; and

WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. moved to Bloomington in 1945; he secured his first local job on the Chicago and Alton Railroad, burning weeds for a dollar a day; and

WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. first joined the local NAACP chapter in 1951; he became the local branch secretary in 1968, a position he held into the 21st century; and

WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. worked with other leaders of the local civil rights community for equal access to housing, education, and services; and

WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. has been honored for his tireless efforts to end racial discrimination by a number of organizations, including the NAACP and the Bloomington Human Relations Commission; and

WHEREAS, Henry Gay Sr. was named a McLean County History Maker in 2019; and

WHEREAS, Merlin Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr. played pivotal roles in the success of the Bloomington-Normal NAACP; and

WHEREAS, The Bloomington community is honoring Merlin Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr. for their contributions to the local civil rights movement by dedicating streets in their names; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we extend our sincere condolences to the family of Merlin Kennedy for his passing, and we celebrate the achievements and legacies of Merlin Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr., two extraordinary men; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the families of Merlin Kennedy and Henry Gay Sr. as expressions of our esteem and respect.