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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated was
3founded on December 4, 1906 by seven college men, respectfully
4known as the "Seven Jewels", on the campus of Cornell
5University in Ithaca, New York and became the first
6intercollegiate Greek-letter fraternity established by and for
7African Americans; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The Seven Jewels of the fraternity, Henry Arthur
9Callis, Charles Henry Chapman, Eugene Kinckle Jones, George
10Biddle Kelley, Nathaniel Allison Murray, Robert Harold Ogle,
11and Vertner Woodson Tandy, recognized the need for a strong
12bond of brotherhood among African descendants in this country
13and the need to help correct the educational, economic,
14political, and social injustices faced by African Americans
15and other people of color; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha initially served as a study and
17support group for minority students who faced racial
18prejudice, both educationally and socially, at Cornell
19University; the Jewel founders and early leaders of the
20fraternity succeeded in laying a firm foundation for Alpha Phi
21Alpha's principles of scholarship, fellowship, good character,
22and the uplifting of humanity; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, While stressing academic excellence among its
2members since its founding, Alpha Phi Alpha has consistently
3supplied its voice and vision to the struggle of African
4Americans and people of color and to issues of civil rights
5around the world; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The aims of Alpha Phi Alpha are manly deeds,
7scholarship, and love for all mankind; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The mission of Alpha Phi Alpha is to develop
9leaders, promote brotherhood and academic excellence, and
10provide service and advocacy for communities, as exemplified
11through its national programs, including "Go to High School,
12Go to College", which focuses on the educational achievement
13of students in elementary, secondary, and post-secondary
14schools and has given thousands of dollars in scholarship
15funds to deserving students, "Project Alpha", which teaches
16teenage pregnancy prevention and sexually transmitted disease
17prevention to young males, and its "A Voteless People is a
18Hopeless People" campaign, a voter registration and education
19program through which thousands of voters have been educated
20and registered; the fraternity also focuses on providing
21service through its strategic partnerships with Big Brothers
22Big Sisters, the Boy Scouts of America, the March of Dimes, the
23American Heart/American Stroke Association, and the American
24Cancer Society; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, For over 116 years, Alpha Phi Alpha has played a
2fundamental role in the positive development of the character
3and education of more than 200,000 men around the world; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha has over 700 college and alumni
5chapters in the U.S., Africa, Asia, the Caribbean, and Europe;
6this total includes 141 chapters in the Midwestern Region, and
732 of those chapters are in Illinois; the fraternity's
8presence started in Illinois with the founding of the first
9college chapter in Illinois, the Theta Chapter, in 1910 and
10the first alumni chapter, the Xi Lambda Chapter, in 1924, both
11in Chicago; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Members of Alpha Phi Alpha include many
13noteworthy leaders in the areas of government, business,
14entertainment, science, and higher education, including Dr.
15Martin Luther King Jr., Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. DuBois, John
16Hope Franklin, John H. Johnson, Adam Clayton Powell, Andrew
17Young, Robert Smith, and Cornel West; its membership also
18includes federal, State, and local elected officials,
19including U.S. Representative Danny K. Davis, former U.S.
20Senators Edward Brook and Roland Burris, former State Senator
21Donne E. Trotter, former State Representative Al Riley, former
22State Representative Art Turner Jr., former Cook County Board
23Presidents John and Todd Stroger, and former Mayor of Chicago

 

 

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1Eugene Sawyer, among countless others who have long stood at
2the forefront of the fight for civil and human rights and
3social change for all Americans; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Several Alpha Phi Alpha members have served in
5the Illinois General Assembly, and members currently serving
6in the 103rd General Assembly are Representative Justin
7Slaughter, Speaker of the House of Representatives Emanuel
8"Chris" Welch, and Senator Elgie R. Sims Jr., who also served
9as the 26th Vice President of the Midwestern Region; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Alpha Phi Alpha continues to enrich the lives of
11its members, who, in turn, provide service and advocacy for
12the communities they serve; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
14HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15we recognize the 2023 Alpha Phi Alpha Day held at the Illinois
16State Capitol and welcome the members of Alpha Phi Alpha to the
17Capitol; and be it further
 
18    RESOLVED, That we declare April 19, 2023 as Alpha Phi
19Alpha Day in the State of Illinois in honor of Alpha Phi Alpha
20Fraternity, Incorporated and its continued impact on the
21communities it serves.